A matter of trust
by pikachuevolves34
Summary: Harry finds himself participating in the Nonary game: Ambidex edition as an extra player. But why is he there and why does he have these random flashbacks? In a game of life and death who does he trust? Rated for swearing. Please support Operation Bluebird.
1. Beginning

I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's Last Reward.

Beginning

A series of images flashed through Harry's mind. A castle, a building in the middle of nowhere. Graves, lots of graves. Then a white gas. Stretching, Harry forced his eyes open and looked blearily around the empty room. His head was about to explode.

"Where am I?" Placing his hands on the floor, Harry pushed himself to his feet then stared at the watch on his wrist. It was big, bulky and showed a 3 and solo, both in black. Pressing the two buttons on the side did nothing. Neither did any amount of twisting, pulling or anything else Harry could think of. "What is going on? The last thing I remember, it was 1991 and I was looking forward to Hogwarts."

A memory hit him. A part of a conversation.

_"You know why you're doing this."_

_"Yes. To provide a random variable and so I can project back into the past as well as guide Phi and Sigma. I may not like the danger this project is putting people into but it concerns the fate of the world. It's their comfort or allowing the extinction of humanity. Nos fortuna nostra"_

"What the hell?" Normally, Harry wouldn't swear but he felt the situation required it.

Pressing the buttons on the nearby panel did nothing.

"Is this elevator broken?" The screen lit up. "Finally something's happening."

"How're feeling Hattie? Woken up yet?"

"Lagomorph." Harry grabbed his head as he stared at the rabbit. "How do I know that?"

"Hattie, I'm Zero III, the king of this kingdom! And I'd appreciate you not telling anybunny about what you've heard. Otherwise I'd have to kill you. Anyway, you have a game to play. The NONARY GAME! AMBIDEX EDITION!"

"You always had a weird sense of humour. And did you have to shout that last bit?"

"And this elevator is going to fall in a few minutes. See ya around."

The rabbit disappeared causing Harry to grumble about rabbits and being too impatient.

"What is going on around here? Why is this happening to me?"

Looking around, Harry tried to open the fire extinguisher to see if he could try and bash the door down but it was locked. Taking the ends of the rails and the picture of old men and babies, Harry squinted at the small pictures above the railings as he grabbed the pin from the fire extinguisher before counting the number of the image on the poster and pressing the buttons.

Turning back to the panel with the screen, he pressed zero and a card came out. Collecting it, he pressed 3 and another came out. He opened the case with the pin and took the sockets before combining them with the handles and taking the grate off the wall. Pulling the box out, he guided the green box to the exit and got another memory card. Placing them in the machine at the back, he received two codes. Inputting the codes into the safe, he received a key and some files. Flipping through the doors, Harry frowned at the information.

"What is happening in the world?"

Placing the key in the panel at the front, Harry pressed the button and prepared to clamber up through the hatch at the top.

"Hattie."

"Huh?" Harry frowned back to the screen. "Zero?"

"Don't forget. Whatever you see or hear that others can't, don't say. If you keep quiet, more of your memories will unlock. Are they really memories or figments of your imagination? And keep close to Siggy."

"Right. Might as well. Otherwise you'll just kill me, right?"

"See ya Hattie. I'll be watching."

Harry clambered out and jumped down to the floor of the warehouse.

"No one else here. Lagomorph, were you screwing with me?"

People started coming out.

"Anyone know what's going on?" Harry turned and looked at the man and the white haired girl from his position atone of the coloured doors. They both seemed familiar.

_Phi and Sigma. Wait, how did I know that? I've never seen them before._

"No, we don't," said the Egyptian woman. "I haven't been out here much longer than you. Maybe that kid knows."

"I don't know any more than you do. Sorry." Harry hated lying.

"They grabbed you too?" asked the old man as Harry walked over.

"Grabbed? Oh... I got in my car then there was this white smoke."

"I think we all got that particular experience," said the red haired woman. "Like a general anaesthetic. I woke up in one of those rooms."

_I didn't. I just walked into the AB room and got given a mild sedative as well as something to make me forget. Or was it something worse that I was unaware of?_

"All of you were in one room?" asked Sigma.

"No," said the boy. "Me and Mr Dio were in the same elevator but..."

"Who's Dio?" asked Sigma.

"That's me." The blond man rose his hand. "And the midget is Quark."

"Nice to meet you," said the kid.

"Uh, nice to meet you too. What about the rest of you?"

"Tenmyouji, Alice and Luna wrote up in different rooms," explained Dio.

"As did I," added Harry. "I'm Harry."

"That's correct," said Tenmyouji.

"So, you're Tenmyouji."

"Yup."

"And Alice is?"

"Me," said the Egyptian woman. "And she's Luna."

"Hello," said the red haired lady nervously.

"And you're?" asked Dio.

"I'm Sigma and this bundle of laughs is Phi."

"What did you say?" asked Phi in a dangerous tone of voice.

"And this malnourished harpy is Phi. Better?"

"Stop arguing you two," said Harry as he shook his head. "You're like a married couple."

"Can I see your bracelets?" asked Tenmyouji. The three held out their arms. Harry looked at the red threes and pair. "I thought so. Quark and Dio, show them yours."

Dio and Quark had a blue pair.

"They're different. You have a blue pair and we have a red pair."

The others showed their hearts. A red, green and blue solo.

"There's no other blacks. Have they come out yet?" wondered Harry.

"What does all this mean?" asked Sigma.

"I think Zero will tell us," said Harry with a shrug. "That rabbit. It could be for that game of his."

"Oh yeah... You saw him too?"

"Yep."

"He said something about the elevator falling," added Quark.

Harry closed his eyes as the others explained that they'd tested all the doors and we're about to test the one with nine in when Sigma and Phi assisted. They tried to open it but nothing happened. The mechanism came up with an error when Sigma tried it.

"There's still someone in there," said Harry as he looked back at the elevator. "The left one."

Alice nodded and spelled out Harry's reasoning, explaining that that there was only one room that hadn't been opened. They ran over and made some noise.

"Ambidex room," read out Harry from the sign at the top of the room. "There's a plaque with that name on all of them. Are they the same things? Like having multiple copies of something."

"Is that some kind of card reader?" asked Luna as she looked at the device on the wall. "That's one on all of the rooms."

_She knows. Better keep an eye on her._

"Looks like one but I don't think we have the cards," said Harry as he searched his empty pockets. "That would be too easy, I think."

"What do you think an Ambidex room is?" asked Dio.

"Something to do with the game," said Harry with a shrug. "It has to be otherwise it wouldn't be here. I think everything that's happening here has to do with the game"

Everyone searched their pockets but came out clean. The hatch opened and a man with armour jumped out, carrying a pink haired girl.

_Kyle and Clover. This is Clover's third Nonary game that I know of. _Harry shook his head to clear the confusion but said nothing.

"What the... who the hell?" asked Sigma of no one.

"Cover!" Alice ran over and shook the girl violently as Harry watched in a bemused confusion. "Are you ok? Cover! What did you do to get?!"

"Nothing probably. She's like we were," said Harry with a shrug. He was shrugging a lot today.

"She was like that when I woke up," agreed the man. "I wouldn't worry. She'll be fine. Get breathing is steady so I believe she's only sleeping."

"Then she hasn't woken up since she was kidnapped?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Kidnapped?" asked the man in confusion. "I don't understand. Where are we? Who are you?"

"That's what happened to us," said Harry as he stretched and shook the sleep out of his eyes. "And we could ask you the same. You might have an idea."

"I think you owe us an explanation," added Sigma. "You jump out with an unconscious girl and we only have your word that you didn't do anything to her."

"Who am I?" The man gave an air of confusion. Everyone started. "I don't remember anything. I don't know where I am, what day out is out who I am. If you know, please tell. It's rather vexing to not know who I am."

"Oh, very original! The amnesic routine!" growled Dio. Harry shivered as everyone fell silent. There was something wrong with that man. It was like was out to get them. "Please. How are we supposed to take you seriously when you're wearing this? The robot suit. Are you telling us that someone forced you into that thing?"

"I assume so. It's a reasonable explanation. When I woke up, I was wearing this."

_He's worn it every day of his life. _Harry turned his head away so they couldn't see his expression and suspect him of anything.

"You look pretty calm for someone who doesn't know who he is," said Tenmyouji.

"Look? How do you know how I look?" asked the man.

"You know what I mean."

"She's waking up!" Cover groaned as Alice called over to them. "Clover. Are you ok? Speak to me."

"Alice... where are we?"

Alice explained everything to Clover as Harry sat down by the wall of the warehouse.

"What? No, that can't..." The blood drained from the girl's face as Alice started to console the girl.

"When did you lose your memory?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Bit of a stupid question old man," said Harry. "He can't remember."

The adults continued to question the man.

"I think he had generalised amnesia," said Luna. "Doesn't affect things like language, coming sense, facts. But anything about themselves is lost. Research suggests that it psychological but it can occur from severe head trauma."

"Bullshit! This guy's faking it!"

"Shut up Dio. I don't want to hear your voice," called Harry as he studied the man's bracelet. The amour sounded it like a glove but as far as he could tell, it worked the same as everyone else's. The text matches Clover's. "Looks like I'm the only black."

Time passed and Harry didn't know how long they'd been there. It could have been days, hours or minutes. There was no way to tell and the wall was getting uncomfortable. Sigma tried a coloured door but nothing happened.

"I just hoped it worked and would open," he explained to Quark.

"Do you think the looking mechanism is like the ones on the elevators?" suggested Luna. "I don't think it's a card reader though."

"What do you think the graffiti is?" asked Quark as Harry fiddled with his bracelet. "The graffiti on the wall."

"I was wondering what that was to," said Luna.

"Two milkmen go comedy," ready Harry as he looked at the red letters. They looked like they'd been written in blood.

"Maybe it means that two milkmen became comedians," suggested Sigma. "Still didn't make any sense though."

"What do you think Phi?" asked Harry to the girl.

"Why do you think I know anything?" asked Phi defensively.

"I don't know. But maybe you have an opinion," said Harry as he attempted to placate the girl. "You haven't said anything in a while."

"I was just thinking about your bracelet." Cocking his head, Harry stared at the girl. "You're the only black. I wonder what that means."

_To provide a random variable, project back into the past and to guide Phi and Sigma. _

Harry remembered that fragment but out loud, Harry said "I have no idea."

He didn't want to die just yet after all. There was too big of a mystery around and he could tell everyone after the game was finished.

"Hmm." Phi looked suspicious but dropped it.

_What is going on here? It's like some kind of, I don't know, conspiracy._

"It could be someone's way of saying hello," suggested Tenmyouji.

"It's an anagram," said Phi out of the blue.

"An Ana-Gram?" asked Sigma.

"Anagram. A word game," explained Harry as he sent Sigma a 'are you stupid?' look. Phi sighed and wrote two sentences in the dusty floor.

"Welcome to my kingdom."

"Someone was expecting us," said Tenmyouji.

"Well, that's obvious. Why all the mystery though?" asked Harry of no one.

"And why don't they offer us a drink?" asked Sigma.

"That's assuming that they're not one of us," said Phi. Everyone went into a state of shook.

"He he." Laughter echoed through the room as a projector switched on to show Zero. "Shame on you Phido. You can't say what I'm about to say before I say it."

"Zero..."

"I've got a plan. I can't tell you everything at once. Although things are going to get exciting."

"Sure they are," Harry drawled.

"Oh, be quiet Hattie."

"Where are you, you little bastard?" asked Dio angrily. "Too scared to come out and face me like a man?"

"Selfish," muttered Harry.

"Are you an idiot?" asked Zero. "I'm a rabbit. You really think a talking rabbit is a real thing?"

"Of course I don't!" yelled Dio. "You're sine kind of CG rabbit. That's not what I meant."

"Oh, you meant you want to see the person controlling me?" asked Zero. "I guess God touched this one a little too hard."

"What?!"

"Weren't you listening to Phido? She's clever.

"Wait... You're saying Zero is one of us?" asked Sigma.

"Well, that's one way of putting it," said the rabbit.

"Are you really sure?" asked Quark. "You're responding to our questions right now. That means you're not a video. Wouldn't that mean that Zero would be sending you answers?"

"I think our bunny friend is an AI," said Harry.

"Don't spoil the surprise Hattie. But I am an AI powered by a quantum computer though. Zero is the one who built me. So, that makes one or you my parent! Now, are you a mommy or a daddy? That would be telling. Oh, also Zero's assistant is here to help them out. And I'm not the one who brought you here. I don't even have a body. I'm just the facilitator for this facility. I do what I'm told to do."

"And what do you facilitate?" asked Luna.

"That's obvious," muttered Harry.

"Didn't I say?" asked Zero. "The game."

"The Nonary game, Ambidex edition?" asked Sigma.

"Correct. It's my job to make sure it runs smoothly."

"No," whispered Clover. "It's supposed to be over."

"So, what is the Nonary game?" asked Quark.

"Nonary refers to a base nine numeral system but can be used to refer to sending that is connected to the number nine," explained the masked man. "Nona can be used as a prefix to mean the same thing. The means that the game is one that revolves around the number nine."

"Exactly," said Zero. "Nine is a very important number in this game. After all, nine is your goal."

"I take it that the number on our bracelets had to reach nine?" asked Harry.

"Stop doing it Hattie. I may have to do that something..."

Harry shut up.

"Anyway, that door with the nine? That's your door. If you open the door with a nine in it, you can get out."

"What do we have to do to open it?" asked Luna.

"Let me explain. Look at your left wrists." Everyone looked at them. "You see the bracelet? Of course you do. Now, tell me Phido, what number is on yours?"

"A three."

"And the rest of you?"

"All the same. All threes."

"Exactly. I'm calling these numbers bracelet points. Or BP for short. Only people who have nine or more points can open the door and escape. See the box on the wall?" Everyone looked at it. "That's how you'll get out. Anyone who had at least nine BP can open that door and escape. However, there are the rules that you can't forget. One, the number nine for will stay open for nine seconds. Two, the door only opens once. It will close for good after that. Three. You may be thinking about sneaking out. That's not lappin. Anyone who tries to sneak out well get a big penalty."

"And what did that mean?" asked Dio.

"I'll tell you later."

"Um?"

"Yes?" asked the rabbit.

"Why did you start saying rabbit puns?" asked Luna.

"Cause I felt like it. I thought it might make me sound cute."

"Never mind that," interrupted Tenmyouji. "You haven't told you how to get more BP points."

"Just use the Ambidex rooms. You can always call it the AB room."

"You mean those, uh..." Quark looked for a word. "Elevators?"

"Gold star."

"So how do we use them?" asked Alice.

"You go in. Like you do with any other room."

"You mean through those hatches?" asked Sigma.

"No. I had a hutch that you might try that so I sealed them up. So don't be hatching any hatch plans. I live in the master computer. That means the electronic doors in the whole warren are under my control."

"How do we get in them?" asked Dio. "We tried the door. They're looked."

"There's a card reader next to each one, right?" asked Zero. "Slide a card through and it will unlock."

"Where do we find them?" asked the masked man.

Harry ran through hand signs.

"We don't have them and there weren't any in the warehouse..." Tenmyouji trailed off.

"Well, of course there won't be any there."

"Then where are they?" asked Luna.

"Through the chromatic doors."

"Chromatic doors?" asked Luna in confusion.

"Right hare. The three pretty doors."

"Huh?" Muttered Quark as Everyone looked at the doors. "Hold on... I thought those doors were locked."

"Quirk."

"What?"

"You see those buttons on the side of your watch? Press them at the same time."

"Why?" asked Quark curiously.

"To make boys ask questions. Just press them please. In fact, everybunny should press them."

Everyone did just that.

"Hey, what's this number?" asked Sigma.

"It looks like the time," added Harry. "Like a digital watch. Hours on the left and minutes on the right."

"Does that mean it's ten past twelve in the morning?" asked Alice.

"No." The ten changed to a nine.

"The numbers are going down," observed Quark.

"It's fine from ten minutes to nine," added the masked man.

"It's counting down to something, right?" asked Luna.

"Correct. I don't need to explain the rest, do I?"

"I'm guessing that's the time until the chromatic doors unlock?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Ding, ding, ding, ding! Very impressive Tenmyoldy. Lettuce review what we've learnt. In nine minutes, the chromatic doors will open automatically. However, just like the number nine door, they went stay open forever. You have five minutes. Once the time is up, they close so I hop you make your decision by then. That's just the primary door."

"What?" asked Alice in surprise.

"Each door in this warren has a twin. Isn't that nice? The chromatic doors aren't any different. You've got one door on this side, one in the other. The secondary chromatic door is locked too."

"Couldn't make it easy for us, could you..." muttered Tenmyouji.

"Of course, you'll have to split up."

"Split up?" asked Quark.

"Yep. Cleaver, can you tell me what the three primary colours are?"

"What are you asking me?"

"You haven't talked to me. I try to communicate to as many people as possible. It helps me improve. I'm trying to get into the rabbit of doing it all the time. Now, answer my question. What are the three primary colours?"

"You mean red, green and blue? You're supposed to make any colour by mixing them."

"So what colours would you mix to make magenta?"

"Red and blue."

"Yellow?"

"Green and red."

"Cyan?"

"Green and blue."

"That's right! Now take another look at the bracelets you're wearing. Notice how they come in the vibrant colours?"

"Tech. We get it. The red and blue bracelets open the magenta door, green and red open the yellow door and blue and green open the cyan door. I miss anything?"

"Uh, mine's black," said Harry with a frown. "How did that work?"

"You can go through any door you like. It makes you a random variable. There's something else too."

"_To be a random variable." _That was what was said in that memory.

"You're taking about what happens if you've got two of the same colour, right?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Yep. What do you think happens?"

"How the hell would I know?"

"Off you want to open a door with just one colour, you can open the door with the complementary colour."

"I see... if you've got a red and red, you can open the cyan door, blue and blue will open the yellow door and green will open the magenta door."

"Right again! Looks like your brain hasn't rotted yet Tenmyouldy."

"What's that meant to mean?"

"Exactly what I said. I was trying for a compliment..." Tenmyouji glared at him. "Let's continue. There's two types of bracelets. Pairs and solos. That means there are two types of players too. Pairs and solos. In this game, the two members of a pair are considered as one so they share a destiny. Isn't that good? You get two for the price of one. It also means they can't split up. Both have to go through the same chromatic door. Solos don't have that restriction. Why would they? They're alone. That means they can go wherever they want. Let's have a look at your bracelet Siggy. What colour is yours?"

"Red," muttered Sigma.

"Pair or solo?"

"Pair."

"Phi is next."

"It's the same," said Phi.

"You, Alas?"

"A red solo."

"B.O.? Quirk?"

"Blue, pair," said Dio reluctantly.

"Same."

"Moony, Cleaver, Tenmyoldy. All at once."

"Blue solo." Luna.

"Green pair." Clover.

"Green solo." Tenmyouji.

"And... who are you?" The rabbit started at the masked man.

"I'm, uh... let's see... I suppose you can call me K."

"I knew it! You were lying about that amnesia crap!" cried Dio.

"I'm not lying. This was just... a flash of insight. I saw the letter K."

"So? What does K have to do with anything?"

"I wish I knew."

"Maybe it had something to do with your name," suggested Harry. "It could have started with a k."

"Possibly."

"I'm guessing K's bracelet is the same as Clover's," said Alice as she brought her hand to her face.

"Yes."

"Finally, Hattie!"

"A black solo," muttered Harry. Dio stared at him with a glint in his eye.

"I'm glad we got that out of the way! Now, lettuce return to the subject at hand. How do you open the secondary door? So, Siggy, how would you get through the magenta door?"

"Well, me and Phi can't split," said Sigma thoughtfully. "We could go with Luna or Harry."

"Or you could come with me and Mr Dio," suggested Quark. "We're blue too."

"Whoops! Oh, celerysticks, I forgot to tell you. You have to have three people in your groups to happen the secondary door."

"How did that work?" asked Harry in confusion and worry. "There's ten of us and ten didn't go into three. There's one left over."

"Well, the secondary do well open when it detects the right colour combination, excluding black. The black bracelet will work only with a group of three."

"Then our only choice is to pair up with Luna," says Sigma.

"Pretty much. And the secondary door will only open when the primary for it is closed. It's designed to keep out cheaters. We don't want extra players running in at the last minute. I may have run a hare too long in my explanation. Any questions?"

Running over everything in his head, Harry frowned.

"You mentioned a penalty. What is it?"

"What's the point of the game? Why us? Where are we? And who is the real Zero?"

**"Chromatic doors have now opened. Give minutes regain until doors close."**

The doors slid open as the announcement echoed through the room.

"Looks like your times up. You're better get to it and get those doors opened."

"Fuck that. We aren't going to open shit!" Harry raised an eyebrow at Dio's language.

"Fuck you Dio." The words slipped out of his mouth. "We don't have much of a choice."

"If anyone is left outside after the doors close, they'll be..." Zero trailed off, increasing the tension.

"They'll what?" asked Quark.

"Penalised."

"What the hell is the penalty anyway?" asked Dio.

"Death." That shut everyone up. "Your bracelets contain two drugs. The first is an anaesthetic called Soporil β. The other is a relaxant called Tubocurarine. Your bracelet also has a bunch of needles. If you break the rules, the needles hop out and inject you. First with the Soporil which puts you to sleep. Nine minutes later, the Tubocurarine is injected and numbs your respiratory muscles. I guess you could say that it will take your breath soporil is there it if the kindness of Zero's heart. I mean the real zero, not me. Zero didn't want to start anybunny suffer. Isn't that so compassionate? If I had a heart, it would be melting. Anyway, you'll be dying pretty painlessly. There's nothing to worry about. If you follow the rules, that won't happen."

"You do have a weird sense of humour." Harry shook his head.

"**Three minutes left until chromatic doors close."**

"Looks like it's time for me to hop out of here. See you later. Have a nice trap."

The projector turned off.

"What the fuck?" Harry knew it was rude to swear but it wasn't a normal day. First he got stuck in a elevator, then told it was going to fall if he didn't get out in time then he found himself in a warehouse goodness knows where with a death threat then now he had to pay some stupid game. For some reason, he was oddly calm.

_Stay with Siggy._

"What are we going to do?" asked Luna desperately. "We have to go. We have to use these doors."

"But how do we know which for to do though?" asked Quark.

"You still don't get it?" asked Phi. "Fine, just pay attention. We don't have much time. Zero's explanation was pretty confusing so I'll put it in small words. There are three possible options for the main groups."

Phi continued to explain. The red pair girls go with the blue solo through the magenta door. The red solo would go with the green pair through the yellow door. The green style would go through the blue pair through the cyan door.

Another option was the red pair going with the green solo through the yellow door. The red solo would go with the blue pair through the magenta door. The green pair world go with the blue solo through the cyan door.

The last option was the reds paring up to go through the cyan door, the blues paring up to go through the yellow door and the greens going through the magenta door.

"And these options don't include Harry who goes where he pleases. Which ones do we choose?"

"I think I'll stick with Sigma. For some reason, I trust him," said Harry truthfully. As well as being threatened by an AI. That was a factor.

"Please Sigma, choose something," begged Luna.

"WHY ME?" The stress was getting to him.

"Alice or Clover could choose," suggested Luna. Harry glanced around as he felt time running out. "Or anyone. When one person chooses, everyone else will be sorted."

**"One minute until chromatic doors close."**

"Alright! I'll pick!" Everyone listened carefully. "Phi and I will go through the yellow door with Tenmyouji. That sounds good?"

"I don't mind," said Harry with a shrug. The other two have their agreement and they separated.

Grumbling about insane rabbits and crazy plans, Harry stepped with Phi, Sigma and Tenmyouji into the yellow chromatic door.


	2. Infirmary

I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's last reward

Infirmary

The countdown finished and the primary door closed. A light passed over them, checking the brackets and the second door opened. The four walked down the passage and found themselves in an infirmary.

"What? This is the infirmary?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Looks like it," said Phi as she turned thoughtful. Harry looked at the machines closely. They were like nothing he'd ever seen. "That's what it said in the door."

"What the hell?" asked Sigma. Harry frowned and sighed. It looked like he had to put up with a lot of swears in this game. "Why is there an infirmary next to a warehouse?"

"Well, it's probably here for the workers," said Phi. "If they got ill or hurt."

"Like the nurses room at school," added Harry as he sat in the chair.

"What workers?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"Did you see the size of that place?" asked Tenmyouji. "Little big to be someone's garage."

"Then you say people work here?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"Or are going to work here," added Harry. "It could be new. Or really old and abandoned."

"Sometime was here until recently," observed Phi. "There's no dust."

"Old and newly abandoned then," suggested Harry.

"There's a door in the back," said Sigma as he looked at it.

"You're really slow," muttered Harry. "But you are an old guy..."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." A presence focused on him and Harry had the sneaking suspicion it was Zero.

"Think it will open?" asked Phi.

"Probably not," said Harry with a glance around before noticing a familiar box. "There's a safe. I bet there's a key in it."

"And that thing next to it says 'lock'," added Tenmyouji. Sigma tried to open it but nothing happened.

"Let's have a look around," suggested Phi.

"Maybe there's one of those card keys around," added Tenmyouji.

"Then let's get started," declared Sigma.

Harry lowered himself under the beds.

"There's nothing under there Harry."

"Doesn't hurt to have a look."

"What this big thing?" asked Sigma as Harry stood back up and grabbed a metal stake.

"Looks like some medical equipment," said Tenmyouji.

"I don't think it's on," commented Harry as he touched it. "But there is a button."

"I was going to say that," grumbled Tenmyouji.

Harry pushed the button as the others argued about it. The screen glowed white before picking up a scanner.

"Do you think we're supposed to scan something?"

"Try the hole in the sheet," suggested Tenmyouji. Harry did that but got nowhere with the puzzle.

"Looks like we're missing something." He put the scanner back in its holder and picked up a metal thing on the desk.

"Is this a laser?" asked Sigma as he picked the device up.

"Looks like a needle to me," said Harry with a shrug.

"An injection gun," corrected Phi.

"Is it worth taking it with us?" asked Sigma.

"I think it belongs here," said Harry as Sigma put it back and picked up a key. He grabbed the scalpel before grabbing some wading up powder or what looked like it. The adults discussed using the medicine before deciding against it.

Harry placed the key in a keyhole and unlocked it before removing a sewn in sheet. He placed the offer into a bowl and used the empty jar to pour water into it. Sigma tried to put the sheet on the bed but Phi stopped him. Harry took the sheet back, washed it and passed it back.

"What? I know how to wash. I have to do it for my family," Harry said to their odd looks.

"How old are you?" asked Phi.

"Eleven, why?"

"You're awfully big for an eleven year old," said Tenmyouji. Harry placed the key in the second key hole while puzzling over what Tenmyouji had said as Sigma solved the puzzle on the bed. He played the block puzzle and looked at the number of blocks before selecting the right things on the desk beside him and collected the pad then placed it on the bed. The screen showed another password when Harry solved the puzzle.

"That was in the AB room," said Harry with a frown as he looked at the password. "But it was different."

"Same here," agreed Tenmyouji. Shrugging, Harry placed the parts into the safe and pulled the files out.

"A map?" asked Sigma in surprise.

"Looks like the facility, " said Harry. _How did I know that?_

"Floor a... let's put this aside for now. Why don't we get the rest of the stuff?" asked Phi.

"There's two cards," said Sigma as he looked at it. Frowning, Harry closed his eyes then flinched as he bracket grew warm. A picture of a Sun rushed over it before fading. _What was that?_

"These must open the Ambidex rooms. They've got Ambidex room right there," noted Tenmyouji.

"Yeah, you're probably right," mused Phi as she looked lost in thought.

"Then we can use these to open the AB rooms," said Sigma. "But how do we get back to the warehouse? That's where the AB runs are."

"There has to be a way," said Harry firmly. "Otherwise, what's the point?"

"We could go back the way we came but the door is locked," continued Sigma.

"I think the answers are here," said Phi as she pulled out a piece of paper.

"Hare are a few more rules for you," read out Sigma. "Once you've opened a door, you can hop through it as much as you like. The chromatic doors are like that to. Once you open them, even I carrot keep you from going in and out of them. Any colour of bracelet and add many little as you like. But, you have to escape before you can take advantage of this rule. It won't let you go back until you've skidded the puzzle."

"Interesting," muttered Tenmyouji. "It's saying that we'll be able to get back to the warehouse."

"Indeed," said Harry.

"There's something whose here," said Sigma as he pulled out another piece of paper.

"It looks like part of a newspaper," said Tenmyouji.

"Why is there a newspaper here?" wondered Sigma. "Radical-6 infection spreads. Cute continues to elude authorities. The Radical-6 virus continues to spread across the globe like wildfire. The WHO had confirmed that the death toll is estimated to have passed 100000 victims. Immediate quarantine of any infective patients is strongly advised. What the hell?! What's Radical-6?"

"I wish I knew," muttered Harry before grabbing his head as reality exploded.

_"It's nearly time." Harry stared at the wall of the infirmary._

_"It is." His head turned as he looked at the old women who injected him with something. "I hope this idea of yours works Harry. The copying of your memories. You're important to stop the outbreak of Radical-6. You know you have to get back to 1991 and wait for..."_

_"It works. I know, I've already experienced it. And don't say too much. You know I'll remember this first."_

_"Ok, it's done. I suggest you get down to the AB Room."_

_Harry nodded sharply before walking down the passage and ending the AN Room he'd worked up in before sitting down. Out of the blue, a white mist came into the room and Harry panicked._

_The scene changed._

_"I feel kinda sad for all the people."_

_"We're working for that Harry. To help them."_

_Harry turned to a man. He looked kinda familiar._

_"But if we fail..."_

_"You know we can travel across alternate realities. We just have to find the right one."_

Everything faded into black and Harry realised that he was staring at his eyelids. Groaning, he forced them open.

_What was that? Wait, the rabbit said that my memories would be unlocked. Was that what he meant?_

"Harry. What was that?" agreed Phi with some concern in her voice.

"I don't know. It came out of the blue. That's never happened to me before," Harry rubbed his head as he dry up on the bed. "How long was I out?"

"A couple of minutes. Sigma unlocked the door and we're waiting for you."

Harry nodded and swung his legs off the table.

"Looks like the invalid is up and about," said Tenmyouji.

_Alternate realities? What was that?_

The four walked out the exit and followed the path.

"Another elevator, huh?" asked Sigma.

"A real one this time," added Harry.

"Think it actually works?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Dunno. There's only one way to find out." Sigma reached out

"Hey. Someone's coming."

The four turned to look at the passage. The other six ran out.

"What's going on here?" Asked Sigma.

"We bubbled into them a little while ago," explain Clover.

"Wood thought that we'd bump into you too," added Alice.

"I see." Harry closed his eyes. "All the rooms come out here. Makes a certain amount of sense."

"Let me see the map." Phi took it from Sigma

"That map was like the one we found in the crew quarters," said K.

"Crew quarters?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"The workers had to sleep somewhere," said Harry with a shrug.

"We also found a map," added Quark. "In the lounge."

"There's a lounge?" asked Sigma in surprise.

Harry's head exploded again.

_There was four people in what looked to be the lounge. Harry couldn't see the people faces. One was angry about something._

_"Kyle, we don't have a choice. Me and your dad have lived through this. It happens."_

_"It's wrong."_

"_I know Kyle. I don't like it either."_

Moaning, Harry struggled against the arena holding him. He looked up to see Phi. She'd caught him.

"This happened before?" K was speaking.

"Yeah, in the infirmary," Sigma replied.

"Looks like we have a retard the group," said Dio.

"Not a retard unlike some," rasped Harry.

"So sleeping beauty awakes."

"Sure, he just likes to be the centre of attention," said Tenmyouji.

"Are you sure you're fine?" asked Phi.

"Sure. Why are you so concerned? It's not like you."

Sigma pressed the elevator button and they went down a level.

"What the..." muttered Dio. "This is like the other floor."

"These doors have colours on too," added Luna. "Green, blue and red."

"Are these Chromatic doors?" asked Quark. "Look. There's a box here to. Looks like the one we saw earlier."

Sigma tried to force the door but it stayed shut.

"Just like the other ones," muttered Tenmyouji. "No good forcing it open."

"Is there something wrong Alice?" asked Clover. "You've been staring at your bracelet."

"I'm fine but it looks like my guess was right. The numbers have changed."

"The time left," muttered Harry as Sigma came to the same conclusion. Everyone looked at the time. "Two hours. Six minutes."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," swore Dio. "You saying we have to sit around for another two hours?"

"We don't have much of a choice," said Harry with a shrug.

_Hang on, am I sealing myself off? But then, anyone could be Zero..._

"Sigma, where's that note you found?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Did it say something like supplementary rules?" asked K. "If it does, we have one too."

"Yeah, we have one," added Dio.

"If what it says is true, we can get back into the warehouse," said Sigma.

"I think Zero says we have to," said Phi. "Rather than can."

"Well, we do have to get back to the AB rooms," pointed out Harry.

"Otherwise, what's the point of the key card?" asked Phi. "But we only find two. That's not enough. Harry doesn't have one."

"I didn't mention this earlier but when we opened the safe, my bracelet showed a Sun," said Harry with a thoughtful expression. "It could mean that I can open an AB room."

"Just like before," whispered Clover.

"Like before?" asked a puzzled Harry. "You've seen something like this before?"

Clover didn't answer.

"You mean this?" asked K as he pulled out a key card.

"We found some to," added Quark.

"That makes six plus Harry's bracelet, there's enough for each AB room," muttered Sigma.

"Let's get back to the AB room them," suggested Luna.

"So when Zero says jump, we say 'how high?' then?" asked Dio.

"I don't like this anymore than you do," pointed out Harry. "But I don't want to die just yet."

"And you could stay here," added Tenmyouji. "A stupid, angry mutt watching the door sounds right."

"Asshole. Better hope I don't have rabies old man."

"You're an asshole," retorted Harry.

"What's it going to be?" asked Alice. "Are you going back or staying here?"

"We have to go back," said Harry. "We do need to get out of here and the only way is to use the AB rooms."

"All right, fine," moaned Dio.

They all went up to the floor above and into the infirmary.

"So this is the infirmary," muttered K. "We were able to walk into it, just like the note said."

"I had a feeling that it would work," said Harry with a small smile.

"That means you can visit the lounge too," added Quark. "You'd like it grandpa. There's lots of alcohol. Even some of your favourite."

"That sounds great," said Tenmyouji. "Maybe I'll have a drink later."

"The hell man? How are you calm?" asked Dio in disbelief.

_He's lived through this before._

"Grandpa?" Harry looked between the two. "Are you two related? And what is up with your hat as well Quark?"

"It stores snacks. They got taken away though." The boy looked down as Harry listened to a conversation.

"Do you think there's a connection?" Clover.

"I can't be sure yet but there's no way this is just coincidence." Alice.

"Yeah. There's even a Zero… And Harry, he looks familiar."

"Whatever's going on, we have to contact headquarters and fast."

"Yeah, I agree. They've probably figured that we've gone by now."

"Yeah…"

"Do you think they'll find us?"

"Let's hope so."

_Those two are connected. Oh no. Here I go again._

The now familiar mental explosion hit him.

"_It's a real pity that we have to keep them unconscious and frozen."_

"_You know why Harry. We can't have their bosses finding us. It's too important."_

"Again. What's going on with him? This only started after we unlocked the safe." Sigma.

"Well, he's recovered now. I don't think he knows why he's doing this," said Tenmyouji. "But I bet he's looking for attention."

"I'm not. Trust me, I'd much rather be awake."

They walked into the warehouse.

"You're finally done?" asked Zero. "You took so long I hopped off for a little nap."

"You're a computer program. You don't need to sleep," pointed out Harry.

"And you've been dropping off for the last ten minutes. Now, let's get back to what we were saying earlier. How do you get more BP?"

"We go into the AB rooms, right?" asked Sigma as he pulled out the cards. "We've got some cards. K and Quark have two so we have six. That leaves one missing."

"That's easy. When you opened the safe, I sent a signal to Hattie's bracelet to allow him to open it."

"Not fair," moaned Harry. "The doors are unlocked by a card reader. I don't have a card."

"Look again Hattie. Do you notice something different?"

The group turned.

"Wait, the one in the middle. It has a round thingy instead," said Sigma.

"All you have to do Hattie is press your hand to it and it will open!" Zero said enthusiastically.

"But who goes into what room?" asked Luna.

"That doesn't matter. Anybunny can go into any room. Well, Hattie doesn't have a choice."

"But there are only seven rooms," pointed out Alice.

"Are you stupid? Pairs share a destiny. They go into the same room." Harry shook his head.

"That's it!" cheered Zero.

"So what do we do when we get into a room?" asked Quark with his hands on his head.

"Play a game. Just like it says on the door. You play the Ambidex game," explained Zero.

"Wait. What is Ambidex supposed to mean?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Well, I guess it has something to do with ambidextrous which is generally used to mean two choice. An ambidextrous person has no dominant hand so they can choose which one to use. I take it we have to make a choice between two options," explained Harry.

"A game of betrayal," said K. "Ambidextrous can be used to mean two faced after all."

"I guess you could put it that way," said Zero thoughtfully.

"Then what is the Nonary game?" asked Quark.

"That refers to the whole thing. It the game where you try to open the number nine door and escape. The Ambidex game is just a minigame. Make sense?"

"It does," said Harry.

"This shit is confusing," complained Dio.

"Your attitude needs improving."

"Is that you're just a few carrots short of a bushel?" asked Zero. "What do you think B.O?"

"You arrogant little bastard…"

Zero laughed. "That's just how I am so you'd better get used to it. Now, could you all move to the AB rooms then? I'll give you more specifics once you're inside. I think it's going to be easier that way."

Once everyone had a card, they walked over to the AB Rooms. Harry shrugged and placed his hand on the scanner. There was a low hum and the door opened.

"I'm already going to become distrustful. I know it."

**A Ambidex gate has been opened. Forty five minutes remain until Ambidex game polling closes.**

"This has a time limit too?" muttered Harry as he stepped just as he heard a ruckus. He jumped back out.

"There's a lady over here! She's unconscious!"

Harry ran into the room that the shout had come from to find Phi and Sigma rolling the mentioned lady gently over. His heart stopped. That lady was the one he'd seen.

"Blood." Harry stared at the lady as another episode hit him. "She's..."

"_You're going to sacrifice yourself?"_

"_It's necessary Harry. I know you dislike the idea of killing."_

"_But why?"_

"_You'll find out in time. There is one timeline where I don't die."_

Everything returned to normal.

_Why is this happening to me? It sounds like I agreed to become a participant but I don't remember any of that."_

"What the hell is happening here?!" Dio stopped as soon as he saw the body. Harry instantly knew he had something to do with it. Just a feeling. His body language was all wrong.

"Is she?" asked Quark but Harry covered his eyes with his hands.

"You don't want to see this Quark. Trust me."

He pulled Quark out of the room.

"Then… she's…?" K couldn't get the question out.

"Yeah. She's not breathing and there's no pulse. Her body's already cold do I guess she was… I'm guessing she was murdered a while ago. Harry collapsed as soon as he saw her."

Phi tugged him away where no one could hear them.

"What is wrong with you?"

"What are you talking about Phi?"

"You know what I'm talking about. The blackouts you keep having." Her expression turned thoughtful. "What year is it?"

"What kind of question is that? It's 1991, last I checked."

"That's not possible. Harry, if you're telling the truth, you've missed thirty seven years. It's 2028."

"Then, how? Some kind of time travel?"

"And as soon as I saw you, I knew that you were important to this somehow." Phi's expression turned confused. "Did you know that person?"

"I don't know. She seemed familiar from somewhere but I don't know where." It was a half-truth. Harry had seen her in two of his blackouts so she had to be important.

"It looked like she was stabbed," said Phi as she walked back to the group. "I don't see a weapon around here though."

"I don't think the murderer would have hidden it with the body," said Harry as he joined her.

"What were you talking about?" asked Sigma curiously.

"Nothing important."

"The murder weapon could be a part of them," said Phi thoughtfully as she looked at K. "Well, if someone was strong enough and they had metal hands, they'd possibly be able to stab someone in the heart."

"I don't think so Phi. Judging by the looks of the wound, the weapon was a knife." Everyone stared at Harry. "My aunt watched a lot of detective programs to insult the detective, I learnt a bit off them."

"Let's take her to the infirmary," said Phi. "She may be old but she's still a woman. If we're going to do an autopsy, she should have some privacy. Come one boys, let's go."

Dio, Sigma and K gingerly carried her to the infirmary. Tenmyouji just stared into space.

"That woman. Did you know her?" asked Harry as he stood next to him.

"She reminds me of someone. And it's none of your business."

They followed slowly.

"She looks so peaceful. Like she's going to wake up any moment now," said Sigma.

"Maybe she didn't suffer much when she died," suggested Phi.

"Let's hope so."

Closing his eyes, Harry considered who had killed her. It had to be before the game started or while they were in the chromatic doors. That meant that either someone had killed her or there was an eleventh person running around.

"Anyway, I feel a little bad about this but we're going to need to examine her," said Phi.

"You mean an autopsy or something?" asked Dio. Harry stared at the man in the glaringly colourful clothes. Was he stupid?

"I'm just having a look at the wound," explained Phi. "If we had a coroner, it would be different but…"

"Um…" Luna looked nervous.

"What?"

"I have a medical license."

"You're a nurse?" asked Quark in surprise.

"No…"

"You're a doctor?"

"Well, I'm not exactly a coroner…"

"Well, I guess you can't really judge a book by its cover," said Alice. "Maybe you can check Harry over too. Maybe there's some brain damage."

"Sorry…"

"You don't need to apologise," said Alice with an eye roll.

"Are you going to perform an autopsy?" asked Clover curiously.

"Um, I won't really be doing it but I think that machine is a medical scanner. It called an ADAM. It uses nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to examine and diagnose people."

"So you can use it to perform some kind of autopsy?" asked Sigma.

"Yes. I think I can manage that. I'll also check Harry if he's agreeable."

Luna scanned the body before turning back to the terminal. The display filled with text.

Sex: Female

Estimated age: 65-75 years

Diagnosis: deceased

Cause of death: exsanguination

Estimate time of death: three to four hours

Damage trajectory: weapon entered through 4th intercostal, piercing heart

Wound characteristics:

Wound margin – clean, continuous

Wound angles – 1 sharp, 1 blunt

Wound cavity – 150 mm

Wound length – 30 mm

Wound width – 3 mm

Conclusion: based on the characteristics, there is a 95% chance that the wound was caused by a sharp, single bladed instrument.

"So someone stabbed her," said Harry as he finished reading.

"Most likely," agreed Luna.

"In the heart?" asked Alice.

"Yes."

"Well, I guess that clears me of suspicion," said K.

"Unless you have a knife hidden somewhere," said Harry. "It could be an eleventh person."

"Not really. The old lady was found in the end room where you and Clover were," explained Phi. "Only one was conscious."

"Phi, stop joking around," said K desperately. "I assure you, there was no one in that room besides Clover when I woke up."

"Anyway, someone could be framing them," said Harry.

"The door was locked, right?" asked Quark.

"True, but remember what the rabbit said? He controls all the doors. He could have opened it for them," commented Harry.

"And there was a hatch on the ceiling, right?" asked K.

"Yes, there was," said Luna. "But Zero said he'd locked all the hatches."

"You fucking bastard! Why did you kill her?! I knew it! You're the real Zero!" yelled Dio.

"But he could have unlocked them again," suggested Harry. "Or lied. And Dio, before you blame someone, please make sure you have proof."

"And if I was Zero, why would I do something that would cast suspicion on me?" asked K.

"Because you'd figured we'd think that and you did it to throw us off," suggested Dio after a pause.

"That's not a logical argument," said K calmly. "Still, you have half a point. Your argument doesn't confirm my guilt but it does tell us where we should be looking. The real Zero. The person that brought us here could have murdered her and be the eleventh person like Harry said. It would also explain how the body moved."

"That makes sense," said Clover. "If Zero was the murderer, they could open anything they'd like."

"And if the murderer wasn't Zero, why did the AI stay quiet?" asked K. "He said his job was to make the job run smoothly."

"Zero could have told him to stay quiet," offered Harry. "Which means that the murder was part of the game…"

Looks of shock covered everyone's faces.

"If Zero…. Let's call him Zero Sr, did order Zero Jr, the AI, to keep quiet, that means that the murderer was expected," commented K. "If Zero Jr did tell us, it probably compromise Zero Sr identity. Like the Harry said, the murder could have been expected. Zero Sr murdered her."

"But we can't rule out us," said Harry with a frown.

"Killing someone is just a part of the game to him?" asked Sigma.

"Well, there's no way to be sure but I assume so," said K.

**Ten minutes remain until Ambidex polling closes. All players please enter your votes. If no vote is recorded before the deadline has passed, any non-voting parties automatically ally.**

"What was that?" asked Sigma.

"Dunno," said Clover.

"Well, one thing's for sure," said Alice. "If we don't go vote, something bad is going to happen."

"You see? Zero Jr makes sure the game continues even though someone has died. All of this is part of a plan," said K.

"And don't forget Zero Sr's assistant," added Harry. "He or she could have a role."

"Hmm…" Phi stared at Harry. "Let's get back to the warehouse. If we entered the AB rooms, maybe we'll see Zero Jr. after all, he told us he'd give us specifics once we'd gone in."

They ran back to the AB rooms and entered them. Approaching the screen, Harry touched start. The doors closed.

"Well, I'm not getting out of here."

"Hooray! Everybunny's finally here!" Zero appeared on the panel by the doors. "I've been waiting."

"Just get on with it Zero," said Harry grumpily. "I don't know who to trust and you're not helping."

"Will all of you stop bombarding me with questions?" asked Zero Jr.

"What?" Harry stared at the screen in bewilderment.

"Everyone is asking me questions except you Hattie! I guess you can't hear them because the rooms are soundproof but… B.O. is especially loud. For real B.O. I need you to shut up. There isn't much time. I've got to hurry and explain all of this before I'm done."

Harry sweat dropped.

"So no more questions! No answers for anybunny. You'll have to wait. Now, let's get this party started. Let me tell you about the AB game. Since it's a game, you'll have a opponent."

Harry cursed.

"But this isn't a battle royale where you fight everybunny. Each round will be a one on one battle. Mano a mano. Or mano a womano. Well, there are two people in a pair. So it will be a two on one battle. Or two on one on one if Hattie's with you. Now you're wondering who your opponent is. You'll be competing with whoever you went through the chromatic doors with. For example, Phido and Siggy paired up with Tenymouldy and Hattie to go through the yellow door. That means that Phido and Siggy will be fighting Hattie and Tenmyouldy. It also means that Hattie will be fight against both Tenmyouldy and Phido and Siggy. In that game, the votes are compared."

"Oh boy," muttered Harry. "Just my luck."

"And you can work out what your enemies are. Well, I guess they're not your enemies if you choose ally. In that case, they're your friend. What don't get it?"

Harry shook his head.

"Just listen while Zero the third explains it! First, I want to everybunny to focus on the screen on te device at the back of the room. You should see A: Ally and B: Betray. Do you? All you have to do is pick! Just pick one of these easy hoptions!"

"Easy? This isn't easy! This is the fucking prisoner's dilemma!" Harry bashed his head against the wall. He was so going to have to clean his mouth out after this.

"Your BP will go up or down after this," continued Zero Jr. "It's a little complicated and some of you are little slow so I made this handy chart."

The screen changed to show the chart. Harry read it.

"The + and – are from your point of view."

_So if I choose ally, I can gain two points if the others choose Ally or lose two if one of the others choose betray. If I choose betray, I can gain three points if the others choose ally or gain nothing if the others choose betray. How do I know if I can trust them?_

Zero Jr explained just that with some rather funny names.

"You're probably wondering about the pairs. Well, let me explain. Each pair shares a destiny. That applies here too. You only get one vote. You get to choose one. You don't split your points though. You both gain or lose the same amount of points. What you see on the chart is what you get. That does it for the basic rules. There's more but that would have to wait. It's almost time."

"Wait!" Harry reached for the screen.

"No. I won't wait and I can't wait. Didn't you hear me? It's time."

**One minute until voting closes.**

"What do I do? What do I do?" Panicking seemed the right option. He couldn't pick betray and he couldn't pick ally.

_Hang oh. Didn't that man say that I could jump through timelines? How do I do it?"_

Blinking, Harry stared at the wall as it shows some kind of results. He chose betray as did Phi and Sigma but Tenmyouji chose ally. The next second, he was back at the terminal.

"Woah that was weird. Does that mean that was the result of me choosing betray?"

Frowning, Harry chose betray. It was like he had to go down this path. Plus he was angry about Tenmyouji's comments."

**Round one of the Ambidex game has been completed. Results will be displayed in the warehouse. Thank you for your participation. Ambidex gates now opening.**

Everyone ran towards the projector. Tenmyouji was looking at the floor as he slowly walked over. Harry felt a twinge off regret but visited it down.

"Good. Looks like you're all here. Let's get ready to rock. Ambidex game! Round one! The results! If everybunny could direct their eyes to the monitor... "

K and Clover chose betray while Luna chose ally. Dio and Quark also chose betray while Alice chose ally. The results for sigma, Phi, himself and Tenmyouji he already knew. Harry closed his eyes.

"Here are the results! Now, lettuce check the numbers on our bracelets."

The pair's and Harry had six points while the others had one.

"I got betrayed? Well, I can understand Harry I guess. I did say some rather nasty things."

"He chose," said Phi as she pointed at Sigma.

"He chose betray last time."

"Last time?" asked Tenmyouji. "You're the ones who chose betray. I should ask you why."

"I told him you might chose betray," explained Phi.

"Phi, you..." Sigma looked confused.

"I can't believe you. I'd never choose betray. I trusted you two. Harry, well, I can understand his reasons."

"For what's worth, I'm sorry," said Harry with a frown.

Phi and Sigma started to argue.

"Whatever. I'm not going to trust you ever again. This isn't over. Just you see."

He stormed off. Phi also slipped away. Everyone else argued.

"Zero, when does the next round start?" asked Alice.

"What makes you think we'll be having another round?" asked the rabbit.

"You said round one. That means there's going to be a round two."

"Besides, you say the point was to get to nine BP. That's impossible without another round," agreed K.

"Yeah, I guess you have a point. You're right."

"When?" asked Clover.

"I don't know."

"Why not?"

"The voting hoppens when an AB gate opens."

"They're already open," said Luna as they looked at the rooms.

"Right you are! So let me close them."

The gates closed with a screech.

**The Ambidex gates have closed. Round two will be the moon round. Moon cards will be required.**

"Does that mean we can't use these cards anymore?" asked Sigma.

"Yes indeed. Now you have to find the cards with moons on."

"So how many times do we have to play?" asked Dio.

"Dunno. As many as it takes."

"So it's over when someone gets nine BP?" asked Tenmyouji.

"No. As long as the number nine door isn't opened, the game goes on. Of course you could get stuck below 9 BP."

"Can I ask you something?" asked Sigma.

"Can you?"

"There's rules about who can do into the secondary doors, right? Like you have to have three people where Harry is the only exception."

"Yeah. So?"

"What about the number nine door? Are the rules the same?"

"Nope. There aren't any rules about who can go through that could be all nine of you. There is one thing. All the stuff about having three people do through the chromatic doors... It's not 100% true."

"What do you mean?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"I get it. The doors scan the bracelets. It would open if it detects three. If we could fool the scanners, more people could get in," explained Harry.

"Do they even come off?" asked Sigma.

"They do indeed," agreed Zero.

"Then how?" asked Quark.

"There's two ways. The first is to escape. The second I think you already know."

Everyone groaned. Dio complained.

"Do you want to get rid of the bracelet?"

"Well, duh." Talked Dio.

"You die. Your heart sends out a series of electrical impulses. You know what an electrocardiogram is right? It's the thing that beeps when someone is dying on a TV show. Anyway, the point is that you can detect that electricity. Your bracelets pick up on that. So when the signal goes away, the bracelet comes off. You might be seeing some of that during the next round."

"The next round?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Yep. Some of you could die. If I had to guess, it would be Tenmyoldy or Alas or Moony. Or maybe everyone."

"What?"

"Why?" asked Luna.

"Why am I going to die?" asked Alice.

"I guess I can tell you why. Anyone who's BP drops to zero gets penalised. I'm pretty sure I already told you what the penalty is.

"You mean that the needles will activate and we'll die?" asked Sigma. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Correct! Full marks!"

"I see..." muttered Tenmyouji. "Alice, Luna and I have one BP. That means we'll have less than zero if we lost two points."

"What... What the hell! This is important stuff! Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" yelled Alice.

"Sorry."

"Sorry is not going to cut it! I thought you were supposed to tell us the rules, not hide them."

"Well..."

"Is there anything else you've conveniently left out? It's not fair to make people play a game without finding the rules."

"I think it's fair. It's not like anyone else knew."

Everyone thought over the new information.

"Oh, the next set of chromatic doors are downstairs," said Zero. "You saw them. There should have been three. Red, blue and green. That means you need magenta, cyan and yellow to get through. But you've already got those brackets. Have a look"

Harry stared at the bracelet. A black solo. The only difference was the six.

"Yeah, the colours changed. Mine's magenta now," said Sigma.

"So's mine," added Clover.

"Me to," said Quark. "Hey, wait. It's wasn't just the colour that changed. I'm a solo now."

"Looks like me and Clover are still pairs though," commented Sigma.

Alice was a yellow pair. So was K. Dio was the yellow solo. Tenmyouji was the cyan solo. Phi and Luna were the cyan pair.

"When did they change?" ask Quark.

"When the AB gates closed. Your colours get changed automatically. The pair and solo combinations get changed too. It's all random."

"Have on, I didn't change at all," interrupted Harry. "Why?"

"Uh, because you and the black solo are stuck together. You're forever fated to be alone. Now, I must bid you adieu. Sadly, we may never meet again."

"What?" asked Clover in surprise.

"Well, there's nothing for me to facilitate any more. I mean, you guys are good, right? I'll never see you again." Zero started to sniff before starting to cry before stopping. "Did you really think I was going to cry? Suckers! As if I would cry over you dummies."

"What the..." muttered Sigma. "You fucking dick!"

Zero giggled. "You mad? Anyway, good luck. I may be gone but I'm always watching. Maybe I'll see you again one day. Have a nice tragedy."

The projector turned off. Harry frowned at the rabbit's not so subtle warning.

"That little piece of shit," swore Dio. "If I could get my hands on that little fucker, I'd squeeze him until he popped!"

"No, that's just his personality," corrected Harry.

"That sounds gross," comments Sigma. "I don't really want to think about that."

"What now?" asked Quark. "We've still got time until the chromatic doors open."

"Yeah, forty two minutes," said Sigma as he checked the time.

"We should go see if we can find any other exits," said Alice. "Maybe there's a vent or a disposal chute or something. If there's a chance that Zero missed something, we should take it."

"I concur," said K. "There's no point in standing around. We lose nothing by looking and if we find nothing, we can return and go through the chromatic doors."

"Lets split up. Five minutes should give us a good half hour or so. Let's meet in front of the chromatic doors five minutes before they open. Any disagreements?" asked Phi.

There were none. Harry sat against the wall.

_Why is this happening to me? I'm famous, sure but if Phi is right, that was thirty seven years ago. How did I get to here?_

_He was walking home from school. Someone snuck up behind him and punched him. Dudley. Of course. Panic courses through him as Dudley lifted a metal bar. The next thing he knew, there was a white smoke and he'd worked up in the AB room._

Shaking his head, Harry ran his hand along the wall before part of it split apart. Squinting, Harry started at the hat. He pulled it out and put it on. It felt like it belonged.

Walking into the crew room, Harry arrived at the same time as Sigma asked a question.

"What's headquarters supposed to mean?"

"What?" Alice.

"I heard you in the infirmary. You said something about getting in touch with headquarters." So Sigma had heard the conversation too.

"What should we do?" Clover. There was a sigh.

"Clover and I are co-workers." There was a ring of truth in what she's said.

"Oh. Where do you work?"

"We can't tell you that."

"Why not?" asked Sigma. "Is it something to do with the government?"

"You can tell yourself that."

"Does it save something to do with Zero?"

"Why would you say that?" asked Clover.

"You seem to know more than you're letting on. The way you were speaking. 'There's even a Zero.' Sound like you've heard of Zero before. You've both heard of him."

"This isn't the first nonary game, is it?" asked Harry as he made his presence known. "There has been other ones. The person setting them was also called Zero."

"How did you know?" asked Clover in surprise.

"I also overheard you. What you said suggests that there had been more than one nonary game and more than one Zero."

"That's right. About a year ago, nine people were kidnapped and forced to pay a game. The rules were different but it was called the nonary game too. I guess only seven were kidnapped. I mean, two of them were the ones behind it. Though if I count the other two, then there were nine... and a one of the players helped out but was kidnapped as well... anyway, the people behind that game were also called Zero."

"Hold on. Can you give me more details? And how do you even know about this anyway?" asked Sigma.

"Because I was part of it. I was one of the people who got kidnapped."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"You mean this is your second nonary game?" asked Sigma in disbelief.

"It's my third. The same thing happened ten years ago."

"Wait. You have to have something to do with it," said Sigma.

"I guess you could say that." Clover looked thoughtful.

"How could you not? Whoever does these games must want you to play another!"

"I don't think so." Clover frowned.

"Why not?"

"Because the hands were run by different people. The guy behind the first had already been arrested."

"What about the other?" asked Sigma.

"They're still on the run but..."

"It has to be them!"

"I don't think so. They'd already done what they needed to do."

"Unless they had something else that couldn't be accomplished in that game," suggested Harry.

"And no one here has anything to do with it," added Clover. "Except... Harry, could I see your bracelet?"

Harry held out his arm and Clover studied it.

"I'm sure. I've seen you before Harry. In the last nonary game."

Sigma and Alice started at him.

"What are you talking about Clover? This is my first." Harry felt his hands begin to sweat.

"You did say something about us meeting but you not remembering. I guess this is what you meant. But you were there. Not as a player but as an observer. Or both. You didn't really explain."

Tenmyouji ran in. He was frantic.

"Luna. Where's Luna? It's Quark. Something bad's happened."

"Calm down. What happened to Quark?" asked Sigma.

"He just collapsed. I have to find Luna. She said she was a doctor."

"She's in the lounge," said Sigma. "Where's Quark?"

"In the infirmary."

They separated. Tenmyouji and Harry ran into the infirmary. Linda and the rest arrived a few seconds later. Picking up the scanner, Luna ran out over took a few minutes. Harry bit his lip

"I know what's wrong with him. I feel terrible saying this but Quark is... Quark has a viral infection.l

"Oh no..." whispered Phi

"Radical-6," added Harry.

"Have you heard of this virus?" asked Sigma.

"Only in that newspaper article," shrugged Harry.

"What? No, that can't be right." Tenmyuoji looked to be in a state of shook. "Quark can't be...there must be seeing we can do! How can we cure him?"

"Well, the ADAM says there is a serum called Axelavir. It's the only way to counteract the virus. If we inject him with some, he should be ok," explained Luna.

"Where is it?!"

"Was there none in the infirmary?" asked K.

"We looked didn't find anything," explained Phi.

"We didn't find anything in the crew quarters either," added Clover.

"No link in the lounge," added Dio

"Oh he's going to...Oh God no." Tenmyouji collapsed to his knees.

"Quark?"

Turning to the machine, everyone looked at Quark.

"Quark! Oh thank God. You're awake!"

"Get away from me!" Quark picked up a scalpel and prepared to stab himself.

"What? Quark, what are you...?"

"Sorry grandpa. I can't. I have to..."

"Have to what? What are you using about?" Demanded Tenmyouji.

"Isn't it obvious? I have to escape."

"But how?"

"Like this."

Quark' s hand moved like lightning. Sigma stopped him.

"No! Let go! Let go off me!"

"Pretty tough kid," muttered Sigma. "I could use a little help here."

"Stop it! Let go off me you jerks!"

"Tenmyouji! What the hell are you doing? Get over here! Tenmyouji! Can you even hear me?"

"Oh. Right."

"Damn you! Bastards! Why went you let me go! I have to get out of this body! They can't lock away the soul! Once my body's gone, my soul can escape! Please! You have to let me go! Let me go! I'm trapped here! Let me die! I have to die! Kill MEEE! Somebody! Anybody! Kill MEEE!Kill MEEE! Kill MEEE!"

His cries were heart breaking. Harry closed his eyes and wiped the tears away.

"Jesus, this kid has lost it," muttered Sigma. "Someone get that scalpel away from him."

Clover grabbed it.

"Good job Clover." Quark didn't notice as he continued to struggle. "What are we going to do? We've got to calm him down."

"Luna! Are there any tranquilizers in here?" asked Phi.

"No. Well, I mean..."

"What?"

"There's soporil β."

"Soporil?" asked Dio.

"That's the anaesthetic," reminded Clover. "The one in our bracelets."

"Good. Perfect," said Phi. "Hit him with that."

"What?" asked Tenmyouji incredulously.

"He'll be fine! It's just an anaesthetic."

"Made up your minds! This boy is sure strong," complained Harry. Luna injected Quark before turning to the screen.

"Everything's normal. He's in a very deep sleep."

"I guess we're good for now," said Sigma in relief.

"How long will be be out?" asked Phi.

"A few hours."

"He was strong for such a little guy," commented Dio.

"I think that might be the virus," said Luna. "It could attack the past of the brain that controls reason. With that down, his body was using everything it had."

"How do you know?" asked Dio.

"Other viruses could do a similar thing," suggested Harry.

"So, when Quark tried to kill himself, was it because of radical-6?" asked Clover.

"I think so."

"So, what kind of virus is Radical-6?" asked Sigma. Everyone looked at the newspaper article.

"Is this a quarantine zone?" asked Clover.

Closing his eyes, Harry felt his head explode again.

_"You know, we die on quite a few of the routes. How do you know that radical-6 won't get to us?"_

_"You're standing right here. That means you survive."_

"Just stay still for a second Harry." Harry squinted at Luna. "You can get up now."

"What was that about?" asked Harry as he stood up. Luna looked at the screen.

"Physically, there's nothing wrong though his bracelet seeks to be injecting something into his body. Whatever is causing his blackouts is mental."

"You're saying that he had something wrong with his brain?" asked Dio. "Was I right when I cared him a retard?"

"We don't have time for this. Look at the time," spoke up Alice. Five minutes.

"We have to get downstairs," said Harry. Tenmyouji picked up Quark as everyone ran through the doors. Phi listed their options.

The magenta pair went with the cyan solo to go through the blue door. The cyan pair went with the yellow solo through the green door. The yellow pair went with the magenta solo through the red door.

The magenta pair went with the yellow solo through the red door. The cyan pair went with the magenta solo through the blue door. The yellow pair went through the green door with the cyan solo.

The magenta pair went through the green door with the magenta solo. The cyans went through the red door and the yellows went through the blue door.

**Three minutes remain until chromatic doors close.**

"How are we going to do this?" asked Sigma.

"I won't go with Sigma. He betrayed me last time." Tenmyouji.

"What about Phi?" asked Sigma.

"You hit the button, right?"

"Yes but..."

"I don't want to go with Dio." Alice. "Same reason. I can't trust that he would betray me again."

"Thanks a lot Quark. You single handedly torpedoed my reputation."

There was more arguing. It was eventually decided to go for the third option. Harry joined Sigma the green door.

"You trust me?"

Harry nodded. Sigma was the only one he could trust.


	3. Treatment Centre

I don't own Harry Potter or virtue's last reward

Treatment Centre

The door shut behind them and they continue on to three separate doors.

"Is this a dead end?" asked Sigma.

"There are three doors here," commented Clover. "But it looks like they're all locked."

"What's this thing? It's got a lever on it." Sigma looked at the device in the middle of the room.

"Can you pull it?" asked Clover.

"My hands are full right now." Sigma looked at the sleeping Quark.

"I'll take Quark then."

"You really don't want to touch that thing, do you?" asked Sigma. Harry reached out and pulled the lever down. The door to the treatment centre opened.

"Nothing to it," said Harry. "Nothing dangerous."

"For now," muttered Clover. "Did you see the plaque on the door?"

"Yeah. Treatment Centre," said Harry with a shrug.

"Do you think it's a medical thing?" asked Clover.

"First an infirmary, now this," said sigma. "Why do we keep ending up in this places?"

"Luck?" suggested Harry. Sigma glanced at Quark.

"We may have lucked out."

"What do you mean?" asked Clover.

"If this is where they treat people, maybe there's something for Quark."

"Yeah!"

"Let's have a look around then," said Harry with a smile. "Nothing like the present."

The room was rather clown with an antiseptic smell to it.

"What are these?" asked Sigma as he started at the three machines in a locked post of the room.

"It said treatment pots on the side," said Clover as she pointed at the text.

"So they treat people," said Sigma.

"Maybe they can treat Quark," said Harry. They tested the door but it was locked. "Great. Maybe we should have a look around."

Clover bounced off to examine the room. Sigma placed Quark on the couch next to the door.

"Hang on little guy. We'll get you fixed."

Harry closed his eyes. The room seemed very familiar.

"Back again Harry?"

Harry turned to see the old woman "I feel sorry for them. Forced to miss decades just for us to the save the world." He shook his head and turned a button causing a screen to light up. He started at the board before sighing.

"Nice lion." Clover and Sigma were looking at something on the wall.

"It's a pretty realistic posting." Harry glanced at the point before words shot through his mind.

_Memento mori, if the nineth lion the the sun._

"I think he's trying to cough something up. Like a hairball," said Clover.

"More like it ate something," corrected Sigma.

"Like what? A hairball?"

"There's a hole."

Harry looked at the jellyfish before looking for a key.

"Weird clock. No hands. And why is there a no. 4 there?" Harry scratched his head. "And a light. And card readers. Why is there a card reader?"

He returned to the door and played the guessing game on it. The door opened and they inspected the treatment pod. Sigma opened one up.

"What's that on the lid? 11:01."

Stopping at the second pod, Harry opened it up and read the clock on the lid as he picked up the key. 6:20.

Clover opened the last one and picked up a key. "I think this opens something."

"That's what keys normally do Clover." Harry looked at the drawing of the clock. 7:15.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sigma as Clover read it out.

"Yeah."

Harry left the room as the two adults looked the display and unlocked the clock. He picked up the chip before playing with the jellyfish in the tank to get a tile. It was painful as the water was boiling.

"Ouch." He pulled out the tile from the jellyfish and placed it in the painting. The painting descended and a laser shot out. He returned to Sigma and Clover then placed the chip in the slot that Clover pointed out. They read the display.

"What? Do we need to run tests on plants?" asked Sigma.

"Well, it looks like that," said Harry with a shrug. He ran out and grabbed the two plants in the room before returning. "Here we are. Two plants."

They placed the parts in the treatment pod and grabbed the chips once the tests had been run. Harry shivered as he looked at the frozen trains of one. Sigma placed Quark in.

"You'd never think he was sick."

"Yeah. It's a pity," sais Harry. "No one should try to commit suicide."

Clover closed the lid. The pod began treatment. The three checked the screen.

"Everything normal," said Sigma.

"No. It's not working. Read the bottom." Harry closed his eyes. "This pod can't treat radical-6. Only treat the symptoms."

"Shall we put him into Cold Sleep?" asked Clover as the option came up.

"I don't think freezing him is a good idea Clover," said Harry. "And I think Tenmyouji should be the one to make that decision."

They stared at the pod for a few seconds then Harry left. He placed the cards in the couch and fired with the hands. He pulled out the table and the system of the board game and ended the times. He walked over to the safe with the password and Clover and Sigma joined him.

"That looks dangerous," said Clover as they looked at the injection him.

"It isn't. Just an injection gun," said Harry as he pulled it out.

"It depends on what is in the vial," said Clover as she looked at it.

"The label said neostigmine," said Sigma.

"What did you just say?" asked Clover in surprise.

"Neostigmine. Did that mean something?"

"Let me see it!" Clover snatched the gun from him.

"I think you ought to be gentle," said Harry as a warning.

"I've heard that before... I can't remember. I'll have onto this."

"Well, we've got another map," said Harry as he took it out of the safe. "I think it's this floor."

"And here are cards." Clover pulled it out. "They've got moons on them."

The same symbol flashed across Harry's bracelet. Sigma pulled out the last part.

"Here are some more rules for you," he read. "Not voting is not a hoption. If both parties refuse to vote, then everybunny gets penalised. In over words, one person in every colour group had to vote."

"In other ways, one of the four of us had to vote," summarised Clover.

"Abs I bet that all of us have to vote. I didn't think that it works with just my bracelet," said Harry as he pointed at it. "That's how it's been so far."

"There's no reason not to choose ally anyway," added Sigma. Harry picked up the key and unlocked the door.

**An Ambidex gate had been opened. Forty five minutes remain until polling closes.**

"What idiot has opened the gate?" asked Harry in disbelief.

"The pod changed!" The three shot over to it and read the display.

Currently treating one patient.

[-07:48] one subject released

[-08:06] one subject restored.

[-08:16] cold sleep disengaged beginning restoration.

All older records have been deleted.

The other pods were the same.

"What is this?" agreed sigma.

"I think if this is right, then eight hours ago, someone woke up," said Clover. "Well three. One for each pod."

_"Tell me, why aren't we crying any black chromatic doors?"_

_"Because you remember there not being any."_

Harry shook his head. Not again.

"That's before we all woke up," said Sigma. "It hasn't been eight hours yet."

"I think three of us were in there," said Harry as he stared at it. "I don't know who though. And maybe someone wanted us to see the records but not what the time is, that's why the timing's so weird. Plus the fact that they displayed them only after we opened the door."

"Maybe going back is a good idea. Someone else could think of something."

The three hired back to the warehouse.

"Wait, this is different,"' said Harry as they looked around. "I think we're directly underneath the warehouse we want to be in."

Clover pulled out the map. "I thought so. You're right Harry."

"And there are more chromatic doors," said Harry as he stared at them. "White this time. I haven't seen any black though."

"We might not have to come back here," said Clover. "We all have six BP now. If we choose betray, we could escape."

"No way. I may not know who Zero and his assistant are but I'm not going to risk a little kid to escape." Harry shook his head before looking at the wall. "I meet not trust anyone apart from Sigma here but I won't take advantage of Quark."

_There are those words again. Memento mori, when the nineth lion ate the sun._

"But someone else could get nine BP! That means that there won't be a third round!"

_I wish I knew how to jump ahead into the future. But then, I guess I would have to know where I'm going._

"Not necessarily. As long as the number nine door isn't opened, we'll be fine," pointed out Sigma. "We have to get to the others."

Harry nodded and they walked back to the elevator then to the warehouse.

"Clover! Thank god you're back!" Alice smiled as she saw the four.

"Oh, and no greetings for us then." Harry sighed.

"Are we the last ones?" asked Sigma.

"Yep."

"Where's Quark?" demanded Tenmyouji as he looked furious. Sigma quickly explained what had happened. "So are they really safe?"

"As far as we know they are," said Harry. Tenmyouji quickly went to have a look.

"Who opened the AB gate?" asked Sigma.

"Was it Dio? He's the only one apart from the two that just left who's not here," asked Harry.

"I am here." Harry slammed his elbow into the man's stomach as he appeared right behind him. "But I did open it. It's not a big deal."

"It is Dio. It is a big deal." Sigma explained what was on the note in the safe. Dio had the decency to look ashamed but there was something fake about it.

"Did you find any Axelavir?" agreed Phi.

"No. It just had those pods. Besides, we would have treated Quark if we did."

"Can the pods treat radical-6?"

"No." Harry explained what they had read on the screen.

"Are you suggesting that three of us were cryogenically frozen?" asked K.

"If you can trust what we read, yes," said Sigma.

"Which ones of us are the pods three them?" asked Alice.

"We don't know and there's no way of telling," answered Harry.

"It didn't say who or even when they were woken," added Sigma.

"So they just froze the bodies?" asked Phi. "Not like a bear when they hibernate. They slow right down..."

"I think so," said Sigma.

"Then what would happen to the heart?"

"It would stop," said Harry.

"So if we went into Cold sleep, the bracelets would come off," said Sigma.

"But wouldn't they get frozen along with us?" asked Harry.

"We should go and see."

Sighing loudly, Harry followed the group.

Treatment centre

"What do you mean, it won't work?" yelled Alice.

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to apologise for Luna. Zero Sr. must have just locked out the function," said Tenmyouji.

"But it works when we were here," said Sigma. "I'm sure it did. We froze a plant."

"That rabbit might have turned it off while we weren't here," said Harry with a shrug.

"Zero Sr wouldn't leave such on obvious loophole," added K.

"Maybe I didn't have said anything," muttered Phi. "Zero Jr could have heard me and shut it off."

"It is an unfortunate outcome."

"Unfortunate?" asked Dio. "Really? You sure? And you a little bit relieved? After all, we were going to get our bracelets off while you were stuck with yours."

"How could you say that?"

"Dio, just keep your mouth shut," said Harry with a sigh.

**Ten minutes until Ambidex polling close. All players, enter your votes. All non-voting outs will result to sit.**

"We should go back," said Clover.

"I can't leave Quark," said Tenmyouji.

"Are you nuts? You're a solo! Luna and Phi could kill you!" exclaimed Dio.

"Yeah, I know."

"Exactly. If you don't vote, you default to ally! They just have to pick betray!"

"We won't," assured Phi. "You starting here went change or view."

"Right," added Luna. "We always intended to choose ally. Tenmyouji staying here won't change it."

Warehouse

Harry sighed as they opened the gates. He hated this part. The rooms were interesting but he didn't like holding the fates of other people in his hands.

**Four minutes regain until polling closes**

As soon as the options assisted, he got ally. No way was he nothing s defenceless kid. Even if it meant staying in the game.

**Round two of the Ambidex game has been completed. The results will be shown in the warehouse. Ambidex gates now opening.**

The four opened. Harry ran out and over to the projector. He studied the results screen. As expected, Dio and k and slice had picked betray. Everyone else had ally.

The three with better began to argue as the gates shut.

**The Ambidex gates have closed. Round three of the Nonary game will be the star round. Star keys will be required to open the gates. There are no limits on the use of the star keys. The Ambidex gates can be opened as many times as the players wish to open them.**

"As many times as we want huh?" asked Sigma. "That means..."

"We can play as many times as we want," finished Clover.

"Hey, didn't Zero Jr say something about this?" asked Do. Harry nodded as he remembered

"Can you show me your brackets?" asked Sigma.

Harry held out his arm. As expected, the only thing that has changed was the number. Everything else was the same.

"I think we're going to have to open the white doors," said Phi thoughtfully. "The colours match up."

"Wait, black doesn't go into white," pointed out Harry. "And I haven't seen any black chromatic doors around."

"That's true..." Phi looked thoughtful.

"How are the groups going to match up this time..." wondered Sigma.

Phi started to work. Sigma, Tenmyouji and Quark pairs up to open one. Phi, Alice and Dio opened another. K, Clover and Luna opened the last one.

"Is there only one option?" asked K.

"Yes. No other colour combinations would work. But I don't see how Harry fits in. As he said, black doesn't go into white."

"I'd never thought I'd put up with Dio again," muttered Alice.

"You just didn't think hard enough," said Dio with a smile. "Sooner or later, everyone puts up with Dio. Wait."

Alice started and growled.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Luna. Harry shook his head. Everything seemed to be going fast. "It looks like we have a lot of time until the doors open."

"Yeah, about eighty minutes," said Sigma as everyone looked at the time.

"I'm worried about Quark," said Phi. "He still needs help."

"We might as well look for that medicine, Axelviar, right?" asked Alice. "We don't have anything to lose."

"Yeah. What about the rest of you?"

"I'll help," offered Luna. Everyone else agreed to have a look around, some more reluctantly. Harry sighed and nodded. Everything had returned to normal but he had a feeling that it would return.

"We should split up and search."

Dio and K went to the pantry, Alice and Luna went to the treatment centre and everyone else went to the pressure exchange room.

"Shall we regroup in the floor b warehouse ten minutes before the doors open?" asked K. Everyone nodded and separated. "Please tell Tenmyouji where and when we intend to meet and to bring Quark."

Pressure exchange room

"So this is the pressure exchange room," said Sigma as they looked around. Harry picked up one of the suits and studied it.

"No, this is the prep room" explained Phi. "The actual room is on the floor below."

"How do you know that?" asked Clover.

"Alice told me. She was one of the people who investigated this room."

"Did you ask her when you waited for us?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah."

"Why would a place like this need one of these rooms? I'd understand if we were on the moon but…" He shook his head before rubbing it. Everything has sped up again.

"Let's head downstairs," suggested Sigma.

"Good idea."

They rode the elevator down.

"So this is the real thing," muttered Sigma.

"Seems like it," said Phi. "I think, or rather Alice thinks, that the pressure inside the facility is higher than the pressure outside. It could be part of a system to keep the virus from getting inside."

"It didn't work too well," said Harry with a snort. "Quark has it and so could we. We've been in contact with him."

"Wait a minute! You mean that article was right?!" asked Sigma in disbelief.

"That seems likely."

"Something has been bothering me," said Clover. "If you're saying that if we put on those suits, we can go outside…"

"We can't do that," said Phi quickly. "The door beyond the pressure exchange is locked up tight."

"Damnit," muttered Sigma. Harry ruffled through a cupboard.

"I'll go look upstairs. You can take down here." Phi left as Harry rubbed his back and followed the two into the chamber.

"What do you think this is about?" asked Sigma.

"Some kind of test I think," said Harry thoughtfully. "I think I've heard something like this before. Like to see what people would do in a certain situation."

"That's not what I'm talking about. A pandemic would be on the news but I don't remember anything about it."

"Wait, you were talking about it Clover," said Harry with a frown, "Jest after Quark tried to kill himself. Then Alice said she heard rumours of a virus being used as a bioweapon."

"So what's the rumour?" asked Sigma. "I get the feeling you were talking about it."

Clover remained silent.

"What do you and Alice know? And what are you? You seem to belong to some kind of organisation."

"I don't know…" muttered Harry. A flicker of insight hit him. SOIS. Clover was silent for some time, biting her thumb and looking at the floor.

"Fine. I think I can trust you. Don't tell Alice though."

"Alright," agreed Sigma.

"Promise?"

Harry nodded.

"Alice and I are agents of the SOIS which is under the jurisdiction of the department of defence. SOIS stands for special office of internal security. We're an elite intelligence division that investigates potentially disruptive or dangerous elements such as domestic or foreign terrorists, radical political splinter groups and religious organisations with extreme agendas that could pose a threat to the state or citizenry. Our existence hasn't been made public so there are only a few people who even know we exist. You're probably wondering how I got involved in something like that huh?" harry nodded. "It started when I met Alice. I've told you that I've played the Nonary game twice before. This was after the second time. So about a year ago. We'd just escaped and were driving across the desert stuffed in a SUV. I was driving. That's when I saw her with her thumb out, standing next to the road. She had already working for the SOIS and she'd been on her way to the building we'd been trapped in as part pf her investigation. On the way there, her car had broken down. We offered her a ride of course. After she got in, we talked and it turned out that Alice had gotten a tip that the terrorists that she was after were in the building we were trapped in. we couldn't see how playing the Nonary game had anything to do with terrorists. But Alice had a suggestion, that the two people who had trapped us in there were the terrorists. That didn't seem very likely but we were chasing after them anyway so we brought Alice. We didn't find them and Harry had already managed to get away from his bonds and escaped."

"Wait, I was tied up?" asked Harry in confusion.

"You had helped set it up. Anyway, as far as we know, the two that escaped had disappeared. And now you turn up again. Are you sure you don't remember anything?"

"_Come on Harry." Harry jumped into the car and sat in the back. "You were being slow."_

"_Sorry Aoi, had to wait for them to be distracted before i could get away. You ok Akane?"_

"_I'm fine. Thank you for helping to set this up." Harry sent a look at the woman in the front._

"_It's not the first time I've worked with you. And you're need alive to save the future if I don't succeed in my mission."_

"There's something. Do the names Aoi and Akane mean anything to you?"

"That's it! Those where the people who set it up! We'll have to bring you in after we get out of here. Anyway, we were taken back to SOIS headquarters and put into custody. I guess they thought that there had to be a connection between us being kidnapped and the terrorist group they were investigating. But they must not have found anything as they let us go after a few days of questioning. We all went home and returned to our lives. But things didn't return to what they had been. my mum got real worried about me and my brother as we'd been kidnapped twice now so we got bodyguards.

"Light. Your brother is Light."

"That's right Harry. We had escaped one kind of prison for another. My brother is super awesome and he was in both of the last two Nonary games too. The people behind the last two Nonary games were different. Harry had infiltrated the first group to try and help us but ended up dying to protect us. I was surprised to see you again when you turned up in the second though you did say something about keeping the promise to get us out of the first Nonary game. Anyway, that didn't matter to my mum though so these men in black suits followed us around. It was awful. People would look at us funny because of them. The only time I was truly happy was when I was hanging out with my brother. We decided to run away one day. I worked in a café and my brother composed music. It got popular and we made a bit so we didn't have to worry about surviving too much. One day Alice showed up. She needed our help. She needed people that could do what we could do. We went to the location she gave us and it was the SOIS headquarters. They put us in the same room as about a dozen or so other people. They were about our age and looked familiar. It didn't take us long to realise that we were the kids that were in the first Nonary game. Alice came in and explained that she brought us here because of our abilities and that the SOIS wanted to use them to prevent a terrorist organisation from releasing a viral pandemic. We are what they called espers which means we can access the morphogenetic field."

"The morphogenetic field?" asked Sigma.

"We can do this thing that's kinda like telepathy. It isn't really but it's the closest thing. Espers can resonate their concnesses with another person through the morphogenetic filed. The purpose of the first Nonary game was to research that ability so they kidnapped the children with the potential and threw then into the game. Alice had gathered the kids. I had started to forget I could do that stuff. Anyway, I was trying to move on and some government people wanted me to use some weird ability for them so they could stop a virus being released. No way. I wasn't even sure I could do it. Some of the kids did join but me and my brother left. A few days later, Alice turned up. She told us that some of the people who were behind the Nonary game might have been part fo the terrorist group. I mentioned your name Harry and they put a trace on you but you had hidden yourself pretty well. She also contacted Seven, one of the guys kidnapped for the second game. He said that we were the only ones who could do this. They couldn't find Junpei as he went to travel the world to look for you and Akane. Seven was a Japanese policeman so that's how Alice got in touch with him. We joined the SOIS and had months of training to use our abilities as well as other stuff. On our first mission, I got caught and Alice had to rescue me. I transmitted everything I knew to my brother. Some of that was valuable. We managed to get their headwaters and planned to infiltrate it on December 258th, 2028. Then on the 22nd, three days before, me and Alice got attacked and woke up here."

Clover seemed tired from all that talking.

"Do you know if it's possible for someone to use the morphogenetic field to send their consciousness to another time?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. soory"

"I've got a few questions," said Sigma.

"What are they?"

"I'm guessing you can't use your powers at the moment."

"Yeah. I don't know why. I've been sending my brother messages ever since I woke up but no reply. If there was another esper here, they could make me stronger. Wait, if there's someone stronger than me then they kind of absorb my powers."

"I think I get what Alice was saying now. They were trying to spread that virus weren't they?"

"Yeah."

"So who are they?"

"I can't tell you that."

"What? Why? You told us everything else."

"Alice would be mad at me."

"We told you that we wouldn't tell,2 Said Harry.

"Let me rephrase. When are they going to do it?"

"I think they have," said Harry with a frown. "That virus was Radical-6 if I understand what Clover was saying."

"It could be. All we knew was soon. It was something about purifying the unclean. Unclean... unclean… unclean…"

"What?"

"Hold on a minute. I'm this close to remembering. Unclean… clean… ean… ean… Neostigmine!"

She leapt up in excitement. Harry winced as he head throbbed.

"What?" asked Sigma.

"Isn't that the stuff in the injections gun?" asked Harry. "I think it has something to do with the muscle relaxant in our bracelets. How do I know that?"

"Hey, looks like Harry is an esper. There's no way you could have known that unless you accessed the morphogenetic field. And I guess that explains your blackouts. Something caused you to go to sleep so you could access it. Anyway, yes it's the one that counteracts the muscle relaxant in our bracelets."

"So if we inject ourselves with that, we can avoid getting penalised?" asked Sigma.

"One of us can," said Harry as he squinted at it.

"It's still good news," said Sigma.

"The best way to use it is to sneak through the number nine door," said Clover. "I'm going to tell Alice!"

She ran off and Harry and Sigma followed her.

"Phi?" The girl was staring at nothing and looked ill. "Where did Clover go?"

Phi didn't do anything.

"Phi? Can you hear us?" Sigma waved his hand in front of her face before shaking her. She limply raised her arm and pointed at the door. Harry groaned slightly. Everything was going too fast and he had a headache.

They ran out the door and looked for her. They searched everywhere except the infirmary.

"Oh my…" Harry stared at the bodies and the blood. Everything went out of focus. "What happened?"

Sigma collapsed to the floor. "Why…? How could…?"

Everyone else was dead. An island of bodies in a sea of blood. Harry felt sick.

"Radical-6…" He was infected too. He knew it. If he didn't get the cure, he would commit suicide. Just like everyone in the room.

"This is how it ends. I know it. I have to end it. This nightmare. If I die, I wake up." Sigma picked up the bloody scalpel and slit his throat. Harry gulped as the blood joined the rest of it. He picked it up and considered it.

"No, I can't leave. If I wait, I'll just die anyway. And I wonder. If I die, will that ability of mine to jump through timelines appear?"

It was like another hand was guiding his as he also slit his throat. He woke in a field of blackness before light hit his eyes.


	4. Restart

I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's last reward

Restart

Harry groaned and opened his eyes before looking around the AB room.

"What the?" He checked his bracelet before pressing the buttons on the side. One hour until the doors opened. "I'm back at the start? I jumped back this far? Oh, let me see, Espers, people committing suicide and then ending back here. Oh great. I have to go through the AB game again."

"How are you feeling Hattie? Woken up yet?"

"Lagomorph. Can you give me some information? Like how I got back here."

"Sorry Hattie, I can't do that. And there's no point me explaining this because you already know it. Bye!"

"Wait!" The rabbit had already disappeared. "Oh man. We'll have to stop Quark from trying to kill himself and all that. But since I'm back here, I can make a different choice."

He entered the password for the safe, and left the AB room through the hatch. He waited for everyone to come out and repeated what he had said the first time.

**"Chromatic doors have now opened. Five minutes regain until doors close."**

The doors slid open as the announcement echoed through the room. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like your time's up. You're better get to it and get those doors opened." Harry glared at the rabbit who sent him a look.

"Fuck that. We aren't going to open shit!" Harry raised an eyebrow at Dio's language.

"Fuck you Dio." The words slipped out of his mouth. "We don't have much of a choice."

"If anyone is left outside after the doors close, they'll be..." Zero trailed off, increasing the tension.

"They'll what?" asked Quark.

"Penalised."

"What the hell is the penalty anyway?" asked Dio.

"Death." That shut everyone up. "Your bracelets contain two drugs. The first is an anaesthetic called Soporil β. The other is a relaxant called Tubocurarine. Your bracelet also has a bunch of needles. If you break the rules, the needles hop out and inject you. First with the Soporil which puts you to sleep. Nine minutes later, the Tubocurarine is injected and numbs your respiratory muscles. I guess you could say that it will take your breath Soporil is there out of the kindness of Zero's heart. I mean the real Zero, not me. Zero doesn't want to see anybunny suffer. Isn't that so compassionate? If I had a heart, it would be melting. Anyway, you'll be dying pretty painlessly. There's nothing to worry about. If you follow the rules, that won't happen."

"You do have a weird sense of humour." Harry shook his head. Trying to keep to the timeline was hard.

"**Three minutes left until chromatic doors close."**

"Looks like it's time for me to hop out of here. See you later. Have a nice trap."

The projector turned off.

"What the fuck?" Harry rested his head in his hands. He had enough in the first time through, now he had to do it again.

_Stay with Siggy._

"What are we going to do?" asked Luna desperately. "We have to go. We have to use these doors."

"But how do we know which for to do though?" asked Quark.

"You still don't get it?" asked Phi. "Fine, just pay attention. We don't have much time. Zero's explanation was pretty confusing so I'll put it in small words. There are three possible options for the main groups."

Phi continued to explain. The red pair girls go with the blue solo through the magenta door. The red solo would go with the green pair through the yellow door. The green style would go through the blue pair through the cyan door.

Another option was the red pair going with the green solo through the yellow door. The red solo would go with the blue pair through the magenta door. The green pair would go with the blue solo through the cyan door.

The last option was the reds paring up to go through the cyan door, the blues paring up to go through the yellow door and the greens going through the magenta door.

"And these options don't include Harry who goes where he pleases. Which ones do we choose?"

"Please Sigma, choose something," begged Luna.

"WHY ME?" The stress was getting to him.

"Alice or Clover could choose," suggested Luna. Harry glanced around as he felt time running out. "Or anyone. When one person chooses, everyone else will be sorted."

**"One minute until chromatic doors close."**

"Alright! I'll pick!" Everyone listened carefully. "Phi and I will go through the magenta door with Luna. That sounds good?"

Harry frowned slightly. That hadn't happened last time. "I'll go with Sigma."

They walked through the door as time ran out. The familiar light scented then and they said to the lounge.

"That was close," commented Harry. "Look! Drinks!"

"What is this place?" asked Sigma.

"Didn't you see the sign? This is the lounge," said Phi.

"Does that mean that people are living here?" asked Sigma.

"There isn't much dust," said Linda. "Harry, I don't think you should be drinking."

"So you've got a well-used, well stocked lounge next to an empty warehouse," said Sigma. "That's odd."

"It's possible that Zero lived here," said Harry with a shrug as he tried his drink away.

"There are four doors," says Luna as she looked around.

"Yeah. The one we can in, the one opposite and the ones on the left and right," said Phi as she looked at them. "The ones on the sides are covered. I don't think we'll be opening them any time soon."

"I think we should focus on putting that one," said Harry as he pointed at it. "It has a lock so it has to be able to be opened."

"You seem to know a lot," says Phi suspiciously.

"Uh, no. Just observant." Harry met her eyes. "Let's try to find the key."

He moved a pillow and picked up the magazine.

"Look at this. It's a magazine on astronomy."

Phi took out from him and looked at it. "It could be when we are."

Grumbling about Phi's behaviour, Harry looked up the quarter sphere and looked around again. He collected the pieces on the table and fit them together. Collecting the alcohol, he found another piece of what seemed to be a globe before finding the last piece in a cupboard. He picked up the glasses as well before walking over to the table.

"I get it," said Phi. "The globe fits here."

"Well duh Phi."

He placed the two hands on the clock and pointed them to the time on the magazine.

"A green sun," muttered Phi. Harry matches the sick and out it on the May. He made the other two and the screen lit up with the password

"I've seen this before," said Luna

"In the AB room?" asked Harry.

"Yeah."

"There's a safe in here too then," said Sigma as he looked around.

They found the safe and put in the password.

"It opened."

"There's a bunch of stuff in here," says Harry as they pulled it out. "A map. I think it's of this floor."

"And two cards," said Phi. "Sun cards."

The same symbol flashed over Harry's bracelet.

"How do we get back to the warehouse?" asked Luna.

"I have a feeling that the door will unlock now," said Harry as he stood.

"Hare are a few more rules for you," read out Sigma from a note. "Once you've opened a door, you can hop through it as much as you like. The chromatic doors are like that to. Once you open them, even I carrot keep you from going in and out of them. Any colour of bracelet and add many little as you like. But, you have to escape before you can take advantage of this rule. It won't let you go back until you've solved the puzzle."

_Huh. Nothing about Radical-6'_

They unlocked the door and to the elevator. Harry listen to the conversation, piping in where he needed to buy otherwise starting silent. He's already listen to a similar vibration so there was nothing new.

"Hey grandpa, there's some of your favourite drinks here." Quark pointed at it as they passed through the lounge.

"I doubt think now is the time. It's still tempting."

"Let's get out of here. Then you can drink root beer float and I can drink scotch."

"You're going to get more a root beer float?" Quark seemed surprised. "Do you have the money?"

Harry listened but paid little attention to the others as he waited to go into the AB rooms. As soon as he could, he opened the door before Sigma called out.

"There's a lady over here! She's unconscious!"

Harry ran into the room that the shout had come from to find Phi and Sigma rolling the mentioned lady gently over. It was still sad to see her like this, even though he'd seen it before.

"Blood." Harry stared at the lady as another episode hit him. "She's..."

_Harry, I know you find me on multiple timeless. Each time, pretend that you never found me. It makes this more like you've never seen me before._

"What the hell is happening here?!" Dio stopped as soon as he saw the body. Harry still thought he had something to do with it.

"Is she?" asked Quark but Harry covered his eyes with his hands.

"You don't want to see this Quark. Trust me."

He pulled Quark out of the room.

"Then… she's…?" K couldn't get the question out.

"Yeah. She's not breathing and there's no pulse. Her body's already cold do I guess she was… I'm guessing she was murdered a while ago. Harry collapsed as soon as he saw her."

It looked like she was stabbed," said Phi as she walked back to the group. "I don't see a weapon around here though."

"I don't think the murderer would have hidden it with the body," said Harry as he joined her. "That doesn't make sense."

"The murder weapon could be a part of them," said Phi thoughtfully as she looked at K. "Well, if someone was strong enough and they had metal hands, they'd possibly be able to stab someone in the heart."

"I don't think so Phi. Judging by the looks of the wound, the weapon was a knife." Everyone stared at Harry. "My aunt watched a lot of detective programs to insult the detective, I learnt a bit off them."

"Let's take her to the infirmary," said Phi. "She may be old but she's still a woman. If we're going to do an autopsy, she should have some privacy. Come one boys, let's go."

Dio, Sigma and K gingerly carried her to the infirmary. Tenmyouji just stared into space.

"That woman. Did you know her?" asked Harry as he stood next to him.

"She reminds me of someone. And it's none of your business."

They followed slowly.

"She looks so peaceful. Like she's going to war up any moment now," said Sigma.

"Maybe she didn't suffer much when she died," suggested Phi.

"Let's hope so."

Closing his eyes, Harry considered who had killed her. It had to be before the game started or while they were in the chromatic doors. That meant that either someone had killed her or there was an eleventh person running around.

"Anyway, I feel a little bad about this but we're going to need to examine her," said Phi.

"You mean an autopsy or something?" asked Dio. Harry stared at the man in the glaringly colourful clothes. Was he stupid?

"I'm just having a look at the wound," explained Phi. "If we had a coroner, it would be different but…"

"Um…" Luna looked nervous.

"What?"

"I have a medical license."

"You're a nurse?" asked Quark in surprise.

"No…"

"You're a doctor?"

"Well, I'm not exactly a coroner…"

"Well, I guess you can't really judge a book by its cover," said Alice. "Maybe you can check Harry over too. Maybe there's some brain damage."

"Sorry…"

"You don't need to apologise," said Alice with an eye roll.

"Are you going to perform an autopsy?" asked Clover curiously.

"Um, I won't really be doing it but I think that machine is a medical scanner. It called an ADAM. It uses nuclear magnetic resonance imaging to examine and diagnose people."

"I remember," said K.

"How?"

"I was one of the ones who investigated this room."

"So you can use it to perform some kind of autopsy?" asked Sigma.

"Yes. I think I can manage that."

Luna scanned the body before turning back to the terminal. The display filled with text.

Sex: Female

Estimated age: 65-75 years

Diagnosis: deceased

Cause of death: exsanguination

Estimate time of death: three to four hours

Damage trajectory: weapon entered through 4th intercostal, piercing heart

Wound characteristics:

Wound margin – clean, continuous

Wound angles – 1 sharp, 1 blunt

Wound cavity – 150 mm

Wound length – 30 mm

Wound width – 3 mm

Conclusion: based on the characteristics, there is a 95% chance that the wound was caused by a sharp, single bladed instrument.

"So someone stabbed her," said Harry as he finished reading.

"Most likely," agreed Luna.

"In the heart?" asked Alice.

"Yes."

"Well, I guess that clears me of suspicion," said K.

"Unless you have a knife hidden somewhere," said Harry. "It could be an eleventh person."

"Not really. The old lady was found in the end room where you and Clover were," explained Phi. "Only one was conscious."

"Phi, stop joking around," said K desperately. "I assure you, there was no one in that room besides Clover when I woke up."

"Anyway, someone could be framing them," said Harry.

"The door was locked, right?" asked Quark.

"True, but remember what the rabbit said? He controls all the doors. He could have opened it for them." commented Harry.

"And there was a hatch on the ceiling, right?" asked K.

"Yes, there was," said Luna. "But Zero said he'd locked all the hatches."

"You fucking bastard! Why did you kill her?! I knew it! You're the real Zero!" yelled Dio.

"But he could have unlocked them again," suggested Harry. "Or lied. And Dio, before you blame someone, please make sure you have proof."

"And if I was Zero, why would I do something that would cast suspicion on me?" asked K.

"Because you'd figured we'd think that and you did it to throw us off," suggested Dio after a pause.

"That's not a logical argument," said K calmly. "Still, you have half a point. Your argument doesn't confirm my guilt but it does tell us where we should be looking. The real Zero. The person that brought us here could have murdered her and be the eleventh person like Harry said. It would also explain how the body moved."

"That makes sense," said Clover. "If Zero was the murderer, they could open anything they'd like."

"And if the murderer wasn't Zero, why did the AI stay quiet?" asked K. "He said his job was to make the job run smoothly."

"Zero could have told him to stay quiet," offered Harry. "Which means that the murder was part of the game…"

Looks of shock covered everyone's faces.

"If Zero…. Let's call him Zero Sr, did order Zero Jr, the AI, to keep quiet, that means that the murderer was expected," commented K. "If Zero Jr did tell us, it probably compromise Zero Sr identity. Like the Harry said, the murder could have been expected. Zero Sr murdered her."

"But we can't rule out us," said Harry with a frown.

"Killing someone is just a part of the game to him?" asked Sigma.

"Well, there's no way to be sure but I assume so," said K.

**Ten minutes remain until Ambidex polling closes. All players please enter your votes. If no vote is recorded before the deadline has passed, any non-voting parties automatically ally.**

"What was that?" asked Sigma.

"Don't know," said Clover.

"Well, one thing's for sure," said Alice. "If we don't go vote, something bad is going to happen."

"You see? Zero Jr makes sure the game continues even though someone has died. All of this is part of a plan," said K.

"And don't forget Zero Sr's assistant," added Harry. "He or she could have a role."

"Yeah, he could do it!" Dio pointed a finger at Harry. "Who knows what that bracelet of his can do?! For all we know, he could have slipped around and killed her while we weren't looking! You weren't even surprised to see her!"

"I didn't kill her! You could have killed her too Dio! And how do you know that I was supposed but wasn't showing it?"

Dio twitched before looking horrified.

"How dare you suggest such a thing!"

"Hmm…" Phi stared at Harry. "Let's get back to the warehouse. If we entered the AB rooms, maybe we'll see Zero Jr. after all, he told us he'd give us specifics once we'd gone in."

They ran back to the AB rooms and entered them. Approaching the screen, Harry touched start. The doors closed.

"Well, I'm not getting out of here."

He pressed start and ignored the excavation.

_The second play through, you find out about Dio. That means you have to betray Luna._

"I'm sorry about this Luna. I'll make it up to you on another round."

He pressed betray.

**Round one of the Ambidex game has been completed. Results will be displayed in the warehouse. Then you for your participation. Ambidex gates are now opening.**

Harry walked out. Like before, phi and sigma were the last to him the group. Every group had the same results.

"Why did you do that?" asked Luna, close to tears. "All we had to do was pick ally three times and we could all escape together. We would have only needed two more rounds."

Harry closed his eyes, having the decency to feel a tribe of regret.

"It was me," said Phi. "I told him to betray you."

"What?"

"There's a way to get out faster. If you're successful with betray, you can do it in two."

"Is that why you choose betray? So you can get out quicker?"

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to get out. Just wanted to have a little leverage."

"How is leverage going to help you?"

"I was planning to get out of here with everybody else..."

"You're lying. What makes you think that I'm booing to believe that?"

Harry listened to the other conversations. He ignored the explanations as he knew they would be the same. The only difference was the points, colours and pairings. Everyone split and Harry chief up in a corner. Footsteps approached and he looked up to see Phi.

**"**What do you want Phi?"

"I know this may seem a little random but do you know what a PEC is?"

"Pressure exchange chamber," said Harry automatically before wincing. What a stupid thing to say.

"I see. You wouldn't know that, since you're from 1991..."

"How the hell do you know that?!" Harry jumped to his feet. "That didn't happen!"

"I'm not sure. I think it's because we can send our consciousnesses though time. That's not really accurate. It's like we can move through worlds."

"Worlds?" Harry tilted his head.

"Yeah. I don't mean physical planets. I'm talking about a whole different universe really. Parallel worlds."

"So the world where we committed suicide isn't the same one as this?"

"No." Phi shook her head. Harry watched Sigma exit the room. "I don't remember much though. I remember asking you about when you came from and us examining the PEC room but nothing else."

"Something tells me they picked us up on different days. Clover and Alice were taken on the 22nd. I think Sigma was taken on the 25th... Just who are you Phi?"

"I'm not Superman or Batman or Spiderman or Aquaman or merman or wolfman or Brahman or common or ramen or caiman. You could say that I'm no man."

"That's informative," said Harry with a sigh. "Not."

"I'm going back to the infirmary," said Phi.

"Keep an eye on Quark. He's infected with Radical-6."

Harry stretched as he watched Phi go. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one that could jump through time. He checked the time before stressing up and listening in to the vibrations in the rooms. It was weird how nobody noticed him. Posting the buttons in the side, she grabbed brute having seen to the elevator.

**Chromatic doors have opened. Five minutes remain until Chromatic doors close.**

"You're late" says Alice as the remaining people appeared. "What we're you going?"

"Sorry," apologised Sigma.

"An apology isn't going to cut it! I can't go through the door without you! Zero says we'd get penalised if we didn't go through the primary door when it closed. Are you trying to kill me?"

"Paranoid much?" asked Harry.

"I thought you didn't need a partner to go through the primary door though," said a confused Sigma.

"Are you kidding me? Think it through Sigma! Yes, you can go through the Primary door by yourself. Now you're in front of the secondary door. The time limit comes and the primary door closes. Now what? Now, you're stuck that's what! Without the right number of bracelets, the secondary door won't open. Do you understand?!"

"There be no way to open either door, huh?" asked Dio.

"No," said Harry with a shrug.

"That sounds worse than having your lungs shut off."

"Sorry for worrying you Quark," said Tenmyouji to Quark.

_"Why didn't Quark show any symptoms? Was Harry right?_

_"Of course I'm right. I saw him try to commit suicide."_

Phi started at him as Harry realised that she hasn't spoken aloud.

"In any event, now isn't the time to be fighting like this," said K. "As you can see, the primary doors have opened. We must decide who's going with who."

"So, how should we team up?" Sigma asked Phi.

"We're nearly out of time. I'll explain it as fast as possible. Just as before, there are three possible combinations."

Alice, Sigma and Luna could pair up to go through the green door. Tenmyouji, Quark and Clover could open the blue door. Phi, Dio and K could open the red door.

Alice, Sigma and K could open the blue door. Tenmyouji, Quark and Luna could open the red door. Phi, Dio and Clover could open the green door.

Alice, Sigma and Clover could open the red door. Luna, Phi and Dio could open the blue door. Tenmyouji, Quark and K could open the green door.

**Three minutes remain until Chromatic doors close.**

"So, who goes where?" asked Sigma.

"I'm not going with K," said Alice. "I had enough of that last time thank you very much."

"Oh dear, looks like I'm not wanted," said a sad K.

"I'd like Luna to come with us," said Dio.

"Huh? Me?" asked a confused Luna.

"Need someone gullible for the next AB game, huh?" asked Phi.

"Shut up. Aren't you my partner?"

"Maybe but that doesn't mean I'll agree with you."

Dio muttered to himself under his breath.

"You betrayed me last time Phi," said Luna. "And you betrayed Tenmyouji Dio."

"Come on! Didn't I tell you? It was Quark!"

"Yeah and it is so like you to put the blame on anyone but yourself," said Harry with a snort. Everybody decided to go with the last option. Harry sighed.

"I think that Harry should come with us," said Dio.

"No way. I don't trust you Dio." Harry shook his head. "I'm going to go with Sigma."

**Ten seconds until the Chromatic doors close.**

They walked into the rooms. The door closed and they were scanned before following the path.

"Not this again," muttered Harry as he looked at a familiar room. Sigma glanced at him before pulling the lever on Alice's command.

"That's interesting." The door on the right opened. "It's kinda weird. Why just that one?"

"Perhaps it scans the brackets and opens a door depending on the combination," suggested Harry.

"Maybe."

They entered the open door and followed the corridor to the pantry.

"This is amazing," whispered Clover as they looked around. "Who'd need this much underwear?"

"What?" asked Sigma.

"The door said pantry not panty," chuckled Harry. "That's a lot of food in this room."

"Pantry?"

"You keep food there," sighed Alice.

"I guess that makes more sense." Clover laughed nervously as she turned red.

"What do you think that thing is?" asked Sigma as he pointed towards a machine.

"Water storage tank by the looks of it," said Alice as she looked at it.

"And lots of food," said Harry as he rubbed his head. "Is this place some kind of sanctuary?"

"What kind of sanctuary is it with only ten of us and a deadly game?" asked Alice.

"Uh, a very competitive one? We don't know how many people survived."

"Let's get looking around then," suggested Sigma.

Harry walked up to a hard to get to cabinet. He picked up the folder, opened it before staring in confusion at the papers. He shrugged and took them, shut the door and unlocked the locks on the wheels. Sigma helped him to move it. They looked at the items before picking them up. Sigma tried to open an ice machine but it was locked.

"I need a button." He picked up a part of a button from the nearby table. Harry took the notes from the machine next to it. He saw a calendar on a wall and matched the days up.

"There's something on the back," said Clover.

Harry turned it over. The day the man was abducted. Sigma opened the draw on the machine where Harry had gotten the dates and picked up a metal piece. He combined it with the piece he got earlier to make a button and fit it in the ice machine. He tried to close the draw but it came out.

"You broke it," complained Clover.

Sigma unlocked the ice machine and opened it to reveal it was empty. Harry maneuvered the lid to get an ice cube out, put it in the draw and placed it back in the machine to melt. He collected the boxes while he waited as well as a beaker. Sigma took the card as Harry tested the water and returned the boxes to their place.

Harry returned to the food machine and entered the right dates. Clover collected the food and placed it in the box. They changed the food over and collected the password. They put it in the safe. Harry paid a little bit of attention to what the others were saying. They put the key in the lock and walked out.

**An Ambidex gate has been opened. 45 minutes remain until Ambidex game polling closes.**

"The gate's been opened?" asked Sigma in shock.

"One of the other teams must have done it," said Alice.

"But the rest of us aren't back yet," said Clover.

"Then lets move," said Harry. The blue door opened to reveal K and Tenmyouji.

"Did you two just get back?" asked Sigma.

"Yes we did but!" Tenmyouji seemed worried.

"Then the team that opened the AB gate must have been the ones that went through the blue door," said Alice.

"I reckon it was Dio," said Harry. "I never trusted him."

"Have any of you seen Quark?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Not since we separated," said Harry. He must have summed to Radical-6.

He's gone!"

"Gone?" sigma asked.

"On the other side of the green door, we found a room called the treatment centre," worked k. "We found key card and left by he just disguised."

"All you went through the blue door to see if he went there?" asked signs. Harry closed his eyes.

"No. That's not it. Look at this map." K taxed the route with his finger.

"You can get from the green door to the treatment centre to the blue door," stuff Harry with a yawn. He'd seem out between in and Senate timeline.

"There's a pity big room in the middle there," says Alice.

"I think it's a warehouse," said Harry. "It seems to be under the one on for A."

They split up as they looked for Quark. Harry closed his eyes as he stressed. He could feel seven dots.

Guess they're the other players. In sending them through the morphogenetic field.

There was a weak, faint one and Harry worked towards it.

"Quark!" Harry knocked the scalpel from his hands and knocked him out before carrying him back to the infirmary.

"Harry! You have to come with me!" Phi was weird. "Something's happened! You've got to come to the crew quarters."

Harry nodded before running to the crew quarters. He stared opened mouthed at Aliceand Luna on the floor. Looking at their bracelets, Harry sighed. They'd come off so they were most definitely dead.

Radical-6.

Tenmyouji and Sigma ran in.

"What in the world..."

Sigma checked their pulse. "They're dead. Both of them."

One of the dots had just flickered out.

_Why can't I sense Luna?"_

"Who found them?" asked Sigma.

"Clover I think," said Phi. "When K and I ran over, she was just standing over the bodies. It was pretty clear they were both dead."

"I think Clover killed them," said Dio.

"We don't have any proof of that," said Harry. "She could have just found the bodies. Alice was a friend of hers. Seeing that must have shaken her."

Everyone stared to talk.

"Quark could have done it," suggested Dio.

"No, he couldn't. I found him and out him in the infirmary," said Harry as he shook his head. "He has a scalpel in his hands."

**Ten minutes remain until Ambidex polling closes. So players enter your votes. If no votes are recorded, any non voting plays will automatically ally.**

"Shoot. Time to head to the AB rooms guys," said Dio.

"We've got more important things to worry about," said Sigma as he shook his head.

"Ohh, you're going to abstain, are you?" asked Dio. "That's good luck for you Clover and Harry. Sigma was paired with Alice. Sadly, it looks like she won't be able to vote. If Sigma abstained, the only people you'd have to worry about eye the two of you."

"I didn't say I wouldn't vote!"

Harry started to move towards the warehouse. He heard footsteps following him. Pressing his hand to the scanner, he entered the room and touched the panel.

**One minute remains until Ambidex polling closes.**

Harry hit betray again. That meant that no matter how the others voted, he could get out of the hell hole. Though a part of him enjoyed the mystery of the place.

The doors opened and the doors opened as the announcer says the recorded message.

"Dio!" Everyone ran across. Harry sent a look at his bracelet. Nine. No, still six. But it would go up to nine.

"What are you doing Dio?" asked Clover.

"Escaping," said Harry.

I see. Luna is as she is. She would have defaulted to ally," said K.

"Why didn't you stop him Phi?" demanded Tenmyouji.

"You hit the wrong idea old man," said Dio. "This wasn't just my decision. We both decided to vote this way."

"Is that true?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Yeah."

"Listen through. No matter what haired in the AB game, kinda would still be dead," said Harry. "You can't kill her twice."

He's changed. When did this haired?

Harry glanced at Phi, not hearing the rest of the conversation. The results appeared on the screen. Harry sighed when he saw the results. Cover yelled at Sigma for being her. Dio opened the door.

**The number nine door had been opened. It will remain open for nine seconds. **

Tenmyouji leapt at Dio as Harry walked through. Since and phi umped through at the last second.

**The number nine door has closed. This ends the Nonary game. Thank you for your participation.**

"Sigma!" Tenmyouji banged on the door in anger. "Phi! Dio! Harry! Open up! Open this goddamn door!"

The elevator started to go up.

"So then. Here we are," said Dio.

"Is that a hallway?" asked Phi.

"Only one way to find out."

They walked down it and started through a door.

"This must be the prep room," said Dio.

"I think I searched this place with Dio and Luna," said Phi.

"I don't think this is the same room," said Harry with a groan.

"You really think that you would have been able to get to something like this on the other side of the number nine door?" asked Sigma.

"Hold up," said Dio. "You know about the one on Floor B too?"

"Yeah. I went it with Tenmyouji when we were looking for Quark."

"So you know the pressure in here is a lot higher than the pressure outside?" asked Phi.

"What?"

"Ohh, you didn't."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sigma.

"Is this place underwater or something?" asked Harry.

"Didn't I just say? The pressure inside the facility is higher than outside. Supposedly that's to keep the virus out. If you're leaving, you need to lower the pressure until it matches what's outside. This is where you prepare for all that."

Harry nodded. He remembered that from the other timeline. He pulled on a suit as did the others. They started into the room.

"I'd never thought I'd succeed so easily." Harry stared at Dio.

"You mean getting out of here?" asked Sigma.

"No. You're thinking too small."

"Are you saying that you wanted to be in this game?" asked Harry.

"Well, the boy isn't as stupid as he looks. Thinking you're so special because you got shot and survived ten years ago."

"What?"

"Anyway, I guess I can tell you who I am."

"What?" asked Phi in confusion.

"You see, I'm a hero. I was sent here from far away you save making." Everyone agreed at him. "What? Too skidded to steal."

"I have a hard time believing that," said Harry.

"And I think you should calm down," said Sigma.

"We're all excited to be getting out of here but..."

"Never mind," sighed Dio. "You're clearly too small minded to understand."

A door opened. The four went through to find an identical room. They crossed two more times before walking later. Harry looked up at the moon and frowned. It didn't look like the moon he remembered.

"What the hell?"

"It looks like a desert," said Phi.

"I don't think it is," said Harry as he touched the ground. "This is rock."

"I think I know when we are," said Phi. "The moon's red. It's a total lunar eclipse."

"I remember you talking about that," said Sigma. "In the lounge."

"Do you remember when the next lunar eclipse is supposed to happen?"

"December 31st, 2028," said Harry. "So today is the last day of 2028."

"That means I've been here six days!"

"Ave I have no idea how long I've been here," says Harry.

"We should get to the nearest town," said Phi.

"And where would that be?" asked Sigma.

"There had to be one around. Even deserts have some towns. I'm just worried about something."

"Are there any survivors? Harry looked at Phi as she fell over. Sigma helped her up.

"Where are we? Oh, this timeline."

"Timeline?"

Harry understood. Phi had jumped through time. This was some other version of her.

"Where's Dio?"

"I don't know."

"We need to find him!"

"Why?" Harry looked confused.

"He needs to tell me something. Why are you asking me this?"

"What?"

"Don't tell me you forgot. Wait. He must not have made this jump." Phi muttered to herself. "Forget about that! Just find Dio! I'm going over that hill. You take the other direction. Harry, you come with me!"

Harry didn't object. He knew that Phi knew what she was taking about. He followed her.

_Phi, what's going on? When are you from?_

_You don't need t to know. Just find Dio. I know you can. It's a gift of yours. You're an exceptionally powerful esper Harry._

Harry frowned as they neared the hill, sensing a dot nearby. Dio was nearly at the bottom on the other side, crouching over something. He followed Phi to him.

"What the hell are you doing Dio? Give me that transmitter. You going to phone home? I bet Free the Soul is anxious to hear from you. Oh, if you don't start, I'll just get my friend here to rip the information from you. He's good at that. He can do it without any training."

"How the hell do you know?" asked Dio as he shielded the machine.

"Heh. I know everything about you. I know about the Myrmidons. Never mind that. I need to ask you something. What's the password for the number zero bomb?"

"Bomb?" Harry stared at Phi in surprise.

"Not now Harry."

"Heh. Looks like your friend isn't in the know. And what the hell are you man?"

"I am no man."

"How can you crack jokes right now?"

"You haven't given me my answer. What's the deactivation code?"

"Phi, Sigma's coming," said Harry as he glanced back. Dio leapt at Phi.

"Hey! What are…! Stop!"

Dio was about to smash a rock into Phi's helmet.

"Stop!"

Sigma tackled Dio.

"Nice timing Sigma," said Harry with a smile.

"Thanks. That was a close one."

"No sweat. What's this transmitter you were talking about?"

"You heard huh?" asked Phi.

"Yeah. And what were you talking about when you said Harry could just rip the information from him?"

"I meant what I said. I don't think we'll need to do it though. As for the transmitter, it's right over there. See that briefcase looking thing?"

The two looked where phi was pointing.

"He was trying to contact someone."

"Where did he get that?" asked Sigma in surprise.

"I think he hid it somewhere," said Harry with a thoughtful look.

"Hidden somewhere?"

"Well, duh," said Phi. "He couldn't hid it on him. Not really."

"Are you saying Dio's been here before?"

"Yeah, probably. My guess is that he came here, his the device and snuck into the building."

"Snuck in?" asked Sigma in confusion as he peered at the transmitter. "What the hell is this thing?"

"It's a transmitter," said Harry with a shrug. "It's used for getting signals out. I think someone sent him here."

"Not that. These numbers. 78153 61098 83809 42419 90551… Is that a phone number?"

"Too long," said Harry as he shook his head.

"It's twenty five digits," added Phi.

"What is it then?" asked Sigma. Harry crouched down next to Dio and closed his eyes. A few snippets hit him before a torrent of information engulfed him. Most of it he suppressed before he gained control.

"Don't know. I assume it's some kind of code but I don't see a key to decode it with."

Dio burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Dio.

"Apart from the fact that an untrained teen managed to see my whole life? And the fact that you guys had it so fucking backwards that I couldn't help myself. You can't find the key to decode it? Ask Harry here. He must have seen it. It's right in front of your face."

"What?" asked Phi in surprise.

"That's the key. The message is somewhere else. You need those 25 numbers to decode it."

That made sense to Harry. Some of what he saw of Dio's life confirmed it.

"Dio, what's going on here?" asked Sigma. "Who were you trying to call?"

"You don't know? At least one of you is appropriately ignorant."

Phi remained silent.

"Fine. Whatever. Might as well tell you. I didn't really have any reason to hide my identity now that my mission's a success. Besides, she'd tell you if I don't. Might as well hear it from the horse's mouth. I belong to an organisation called the Myrmidons. You've puts never heard of it. But there might be a few people who've heard of Free the Soul. If you haven't, it's a sacred religious order with over a million true believers."

"Religion. Don't tell me we have a religious war on our hands," muttered Harry.

"The Myrmidons are the hand of Free the Soul. We do what needs to be done to bring us closer to the new world Free the Soul promises. There are some people that would call us terrorists. Then again, from their point of view, we might be. We're trying to tear down the world they've built after all. But when the sun shines for the first time on our new world, we'll be hailed as saints. Holy messengers who cleaned the filth from a dying planet."

"What makes you think people will just accept that?"

"But not all the Myrmidons are guaranteed sainthood. You have to be raised with the teachings of Free the Soul from birth. Then you have to be chosen to join the ranks of the elite and do great things. Returning fun this mission would secure my position. Free the Soul is built around the teachings of a man called Brother who founded our order years ago. His teachings are too profound for ordinary people to understand but you could say that the core ideas are to separate oneself from worldliness, to destroy greed and to separate the soul from the body to cleanse it. Those who follow his teaching with discipline and devotion will be reborn as a new form of human."

"Subs like a mad man." Harry shook his head.

"This new species will be able to live in equality in a world without war or starvation. Brother was born into a poor family. I've been told that he didn't know his father and that he lost his mother at a young age. The only family he had was his younger brother. A boy called Left. They say brother had a strange power and that he was able to see the thoughts of other people and see into them. It left him constantly exposed to the dirty greed of mankind. When Brother was sixteen, Left was found dead. His body was covered in bruises but the police made a quick investigation and quickly ruled his death a suicide. Later, Brother would find out that the killer had paid the police a massive bribe to keep the truth hidden. He burned with rage but found himself in cold despair. One day he received a divine revelation. Mankind was thoroughly corrupted with greed. They had to be purified and a new world created. God had given Brother his mission. That was when he began to teach others the truth and at the age of 26, he created Free the Soul. Once Free the Soul was established, he focused his resources to research on human cloning so he could create the new species he'd foretold. He abducted... I mean invited to help him... a team of scientists from a research facility in the United States and a year later the first ten new humans were born. Those ten were the first generation of Myrmidons. Incidentally, im from the fourth generation. Our DNA comes from Left, Brothers younger brother. That means we all share a face. And we're all given the same name. Left."

"So, technically, you're Brother's brother."

"Some people think that weird but I think individuality is weird. If everyone looks the same, there's no such thing as race or even individually. With cloning, you start even need different genders. How could you get more equal than that? Still, there's a little random deviation and other factors can influence a clone's development. I was the best of my generation so i was chosen to lead the Myrmidons. I was probably sent here because Brother noticed my skills. My mission was to infiltrate the facility. When I was given my orders, I thought this was my chance. In all my life, I've only been punished once for breaking our laws. It had to do with woman. I had come into contact with someone unclean and considered corrupted. Even if I was pushed harshly and purified my soul, my dishonour remained. I wanted to prove my loyalty so I was determined to be successful. My entire purpose is to be a part of Brother's new world. Now that I've completed that purpose, for the first time in my life I understand what true happiness is. Oh Holy Father, Holy Brother, Holy Master. My sacred mission is at last complete. With these two hands, mankind is saved. I am your will made flesh. In your name, I give thanks."

Dio made an odd sign.

"I don't care about your mission," said Phi in anger. "You did this to us! Now you're going to..."

Phi lifted the rock over her head.

"What are you doing?" asked Sigma in slight confusion and horror.

"Shut up! You still haven't answered my question. I'm going to ask one more time. What is the password for the number zero bomb?"

"Bomb?" Sigma started.

"Goddamnit! Didn't I tell you to shut up?! Now tell me! What's the password?!"

_Don't intervene Harry._

She swung the rock downwards.

"Wait! Ok, ok. Fine. It's not going to do you any good though. I completed my mission. What are you going to do with the password at this point?"

"I don't think she's going to use it at this point," commented Harry with a shrug.

"Not your problem! Just give it to me! Otherwise..."

"Fine. No skin off my back. The password for the zero bomb is LXA QNS GDQ."

Phi tossed the rock aside.

"You heard that, right Sigma? Harry?"

"Huh?" asked Sigma.

"Of course we heard it."

"The password. I'm going to try to remember it but I won't know if I managed it until after I make the jump. There's a chance I won't remember anything. So you need to remember it. Just in case. Got it?"

Sigma nodded.

"Ok, we're done with you. Let's go."

"Go where?" asked Sigma.

"Not sure but I think he knows," said Phi as she nudged Dio who grunted.

"He had to have a way out," added Harry.

"Get up." Phi pulled Dio to his feet. He pulled his arm out of her grasp.

"Is there a town near here?" asked Sigma

"Yeah. Well, not really a city. More like a shelter. Some people who survived the disaster live there. They're not going to be pleased to see Harry. He did a wrong to them a long time ago."

"Disaster?" asked Sigma.

"what wrong?" asked Harry.

"Just shut up and follow me. You can see for yourself."

They trudged after Dio. Harry glanced up at the moon, still big and red. Way too big. A bright light hit his eyes.


	5. Behind the mask

I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's last Reward

Behind the mask

Harry groaned as he stared at the familiar sight of the AB room. "Not again!"

Concentrating, he remembered what he said when he betrayed Luna. "Guess I'll have to go make it up to her."

Closing his eyes, he opened them again to see the options for ally or betray on the screen as he stood over them.

"Let me jump back a while."

He jumped back to the escape room. It was him, Phi, Luna and Sigma. He smiled slightly before jumping forward.

"So, I just left the lounge."

He hit ally. The announcer repeated the same thing it always did. Walking out, he went over to the projector. He ignored Zero Jr as he talked. It was tiring having to repeat the same thing over and over. Everything was the same except that the people in his group had all chosen ally.

"Thanks Luna," said Sigma gratefully.

"Oh, it's nothing. You don't have to thank me. I only did what anyone would have done. I believed in you, Harry and Phi."

"I'm not so sure about that," said Harry with a frown. "I think Dio likes to betray at every turn."

Luna sent him a strange look. Phi sent him a look too. He heard the other argue. Zero Jr started to explain again. The colours and pairings had changed to the same as when he heard Dio's story. Zero Jr left and everyone agreed to search the place before meeting up.

"Harry, can I speak to you?" Phi stared at him.

"Uh, sure. Not like I've got anything better to do." They walked to a deserted part of the room.

"I know this may seem a little random but do you know what a…"

"I know what you're going to ask Phi and yes, I do know what a PEC is," said Harry quickly.

"What? When?"

"I learned it on another timeline. When we both betrayed Luna."

"I see." Phi turned thoughtful. "This is the second timeline for me."

"Yeah, you said something about jumping through alternate realities. You also said that you had problems remembering stuff."

"I see. I can understand that. If you take each choice as creating an unknown amount of possible futures…" Phi shook her head. "But why would I tell you that?"

"I think you were trying to explain the concept."

"Anyway, I'd better go. See you at the Chromatic doors if I don't see you before."

Phi walked off, leaving Harry with a smile. Phi may seem cold but she did have a heart.

He closed his eyes as he sensed the other players. He could sense eight but that meant there was one missing. Sigma moved over.

"What did Phi want to talk to you about?"

"Just wanted to ask a question."

Sigma moved away as Harry wandered around the warehouse, looking for any switches.

"Hattie."

Harry jumped before looking down at his bracelet.

"Zero Jr..."

"I hope you remember what I said.

"Don't tell anyone about what I saw or I'll die. Also keep close to Sigma."

"I wanted to check. It's been some time."

The rabbit disappeared. Harry checked the time before moving to the Chromatic doors. Sigma, Luna, Tenmyouji and Clover ran in as the doors opened. Alice said the same things that she said in the other timeline. Tenmyouji didn't want to go with K. People started to argue. One minute remained. They had to hurry.

"What's wrong Quark?" asked Sigma as the boy slumped.

"Radical-6," muttered Harry.

"It's all over. This is it. We're all going to die."

"Are you Ok?" asked Alice.

"No... No, that's not it... don't you get it? We aren't going to die. We have to die. We have to die here. All of us."

"Start the hell?" asked Tenmyouji. "Snap out of it Quark!"

"I'm fine. You're the crazy ones. Acting so serious about this stupid game. We should just stop. End this. End all of it. End everything."

**30 seconds remain until the chromatic doors close.**

"We have to decide," said Luna.

"Me and Alice will go through the blue door," decided Sigma. "Come on K."

The two nodded and everyone separated. Harry quickly joined Sigma. The door closed and they filed the church to a junction.

"Three doors?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"It looks like they're all locked," noted K.

Harry mumbled under his breath.

"Is this a dead end?" asked Alice.

"I don't think so," said Harry. "Zero waves us to go this way. He wouldn't want the game to be impossible."

"What's that thing over there?" asked Sigma.

"It looks like the thing next to the number nine door," said Alice.

"I think it unlocks the doors," said Harry with a smile. Sometimes being able to time travel was a good thing.

"Does the lever move?" asked K.

"Only one way to find out." Sigma pulled it.

The door to the REC room opened.

"Well, that was easy enough," noted Alice.

"It only opened the door on the right though," said Sigma.

"Then we are likely meant to head there," said K.

"Well, let's get a move on," said Harry as he walked through the door

"What is this place?" asked Sigma as they stared at the room.

"A recreation room," said Harry. "That was what was on the door."

"I don't recreation is on any of our minds at the moment," said K.

"The pool and darts I get but what is with the suits of armour?" asked Sigma. "And weird."

"I think it has to do with a puzzle," said Harry with a yawn. "All the rooms had puzzles in."

"And look at that ride," said Alice as she pointed at it. It was in the shape of Zero Jr. "I see them in front of grocery stores all the time. You put a coin in and it rocks around."

"It's like we're on since kind of liner," commented Sigma.

"I think a ship has been done in another Nonary game," said Harry with a frown. There was a quiet click from his bracelet.

"It does seem that people are meant to be here for an extended period of time," said K. "They have a small, well stocked infirmary. Anyone would be able to treat minor injustices and illnesses."

"So, you think this place is to stop people getting bored?" agreed Alice.

"Relaxation is important."

"Everything anyone needs to live without leaving," said Sigma thoughtfully. "It could be that we're saying here for a while."

Harry didn't mention the treatment centre or the pantry. Sigma tried to open the door on the other side of the room but it stayed shut.

"The moon cards must be in this room," commented K.

Harry examined the pool table. A piece of felt was missing.

"What's the deal with the screen over the pool table?" asked Sigma.

"It shows scores," said Alice with a shrug.

"Don't you think this looks like Zero Jr?" asked Sigma as he pointed at the rise. Harry collected the extension cable and plugged the ride back in.

"I get the feeling that someone's laughing at us. I don't like it," said Alice.

"How nostalgic," said K as Harry used the extension cable to plug in the jukebox. "This is a jukebox. It plays an old form of music media known as a record. With the push of a few buttons, you can listen to your favourite songs."

Sigma tried to open a frame but it was stuck.

"There's something in there but we can't take it out if it won't open," commented Alice.

"Well, that's pretty obvious," said Harry with a sigh as he dusted his trousers. They were fancier than he remembered. He walked over to the amour and replaced the lance with the axe, took the pool cue from another then set the armour in motion with a push of a button. Collecting the Allen wench, Harry inserted it into the pool cue and pulled out a circular bit.

"An automatic scoreboard huh? Nice," said Sigma. Harry studied the rules before looking for some darts as he collected the billiard balls and a piece of felt from the cooler next to it. After a pause, he also picked up the luminol. Placing the felt back on the table, Harry frowned.

"This room is weird. Why would this be in a Rec room?" He gestured towards the Luminol as he set up the billiard balls as well as spraying the table. H turned off the lights and stared at the table.

"Looks like they were sprayed on with something that reacted to the Luminol."

Quickly solving the puzzle, Harry collected the container and opened it up to get some dart tips. He opened up the draw on the ride and collected the coins. He selected one.

"Are you going to put one in there?" asked K.

"Yeah. That's what they're for, right?"

Harry inserted the coin.

"K?! Why the hell are you riding it?!" asked Sigma in astonishment. Harry couldn't take his eyes of the sight of a grown man in amour riding a child's ride.

"Look at me go!" K laughed.

"I can't watch this," muttered Alice.

"There is no god," muttered Sigma. Harry just groaned. K started to wave. There was a flash and a click.

"That was delightful," said K once the ride stopped. "Now, where is that photo?"

It came out of the back.

"There we are. Excellent. I give this to you as a memento of our time together Sigma."

"There's something on the back," said Harry as Sigma gingerly took it. "Z9, D1."

"What does that mean?" asked K. Harry typed the two into the jukebox and put the gold records into the frames. The middle one unlocked and Harry pulled the dart case out.

"I guess these go with this." He attached the tips to the tails and walked over to the dart board as he studied the picture in the case. "So, what do I need to do? Get a certain score?"

He threw the darts and received the password. He ran over to the safe and inputted it.

The moon symbol flashed across the bracelet as Sigma picked up the moon cards and the map. Sigma handed one to K before collecting the key. They walked over to the locked door.

"We should leave as quickly as possible," said K.

"Well, duh," said Harry.

"Time to kiss this weird ass room goodbye," said Sigma as he inserted the key into the lock.

"I had a rather nice time," said K.

"Whatever. I'd rather forget that this happened," said Alice. Sigma unlocked the door and they followed the corridor around to the floor B warehouse. They had a look at the white chromatic doors. Harry glanced at his bracelet as the other three tried to open the doors.

"That's odd."

"What is?" asked Sigma as he turned to look at Harry.

"My bracelet colour has changed. Look."

Harry held out his arm. The text had changed from black to white.

"When did that happen?" asked Alice.

"I have an idea. Give me a second." Harry walked away from the doors. One he had gone a certain distance, the colour changed back to black. "I thought so. It happened when I approached the doors. I mean, black doesn't mix to make white."

"What?" asked Sigma.

"Well, red and blue make magenta. Red and green make yellow. Blue and green make cyan. If you go further, like mixing red and cyan to create white. Black wouldn't go into white as it is the absence of colour."

They turned to leave but K stayed put.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Sigma.

"No. it's just like I've seen this warehouse before," said K thoughtfully.

"Wait, you've been here before?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"I don't know. Perhaps I haven't been here, only somewhere very similar."

"What like Déjà vu?" asked Harry.

"Yes."

"Like the floor A warehouse?" asked Alice.

"Perhaps."

The announcer rang out with the announcement that an Ambidex door had been opened. The three ran towards the elevator and the warehouse above them.

"Sigma?"

"Where's Tenmyouji's team?" asked Sigma as he panted. "Are they back?"

"Not here yet. We were the first," said Phi.

"Then you should have waited a little longer before you opened the AB gate," reprimanded Alice.

"It wasn't us," said Clover quickly. "I tried to stop him but…"

"It's not like when the doors open affect the matches," said Dio calmly. "It's cool."

"No, it's not cool," said Alice angrily.

"Your team returned quite early. Did your investigation go smoothly?" asked K.

"I guess," said Dio with a shrug. Harry kept quiet about what would happen if they didn't vote. He wasn't supposed to know after all.

"Where did you go?" asked Sigma.

"The treatment centre." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Treatment centre?" asked Sigma. "How is that different from the infirmary?"

"There were these pods," explained Dio. "Go see for yourself, alright? I don't feel like explaining."

"You took something from the treatment centre, didn't you?" asked Phi.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" asked Dio.

"You did. I saw it too. After we opened the safe, you grabbed something out of it and put it in your pocket," added Clover. "Show us what you took."

"Neostigmine. He took neostigmine," said Harry quickly. "It counteracts the muscle relaxant in the bracelets. I bet he's planning on using it himself."

Clover shoved her hand into Dio's pocket.

"It should be in this one."

"Let go!" Dio tried to shove her away but Clover had already found what she had been looking for.

"I knew it!"

"An injection gun?" asked Sigma as everyone turned to Harry. "The label on the vial says neostigmine. But how did you know Harry?"

"How I know isn't important," said Harry as he shook his head. "I have a feeling that you wouldn't believe me anyway."

"Where have I heard that name before?" wondered Clover.

"Give it back!" Dio tried to snatch it but Harry punched him in the stomach. "I found it so it's mine!"

"I wanted to do that." Harry punched Dio again.

Luan and Tenmyouji ran in.

"Have any of you seen Quark?" demanded Tenmyouji as he panted.

"Quark? Did something happen?" asked Sigma.

"We found a pantry on the other side of the red door but after we left he just disappeared," explained Luna.

"We've looked everywhere but we can't find him," continued Tenmyouji.

"You think he's lost?" asked Sigma.

"Don't you think you're being a little bit optimistic there?" asked Dio.

"What?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"Come on. That little jerk's probably dead by now. We've already found one corpse, right?"

Harry punched Dio again. "Shut up Dio. You're trouble. I knew it as soon as I saw you."

"How could you say such a thing?" asked Luna.

"Just saying that it's a possibility," wheezed Dio.

"We should start looking for him," said Sigma. "Even if what Dio said is the case."

"Yes!"

Harry noticed Alice looking intently at something in the corner of the warehouse.

_I so shouldn't be doing this._ He reached out and brushed Alice's mind. He saw what she was looking at. _What on Earth?_

He shook his head and looked for Quark. He already had an idea where the boy was. He ran down to the treatment centre and looked in the pods. He wasn't there and Harry ran into K as he left.

"He's not here."

They met up with Sigma as well as they headed to the floor A warehouse. Only the three of them, Phi, Clover and Tenmyouji had returned. Harry shook his head to Tenmyouji's question.

"Where could he have got to?" wondered Harry as the others talked quietly. Tenmyouji looked older than he had when they had first met.

"Hey! You guys, come here!"

"Dio?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"What are you standing around for?! They're in the crew quarters!"

Harry ran there as quickly as he could, the others following close behind. He looked into the room and sighed as he saw Luna and Alice.

"No," whispered Clover. It was obvious that they were dead as their bracelets had fallen off. He heard the others talking.

_Not again! I'm so going to become paranoid._

"Radical-6," he muttered.

"What?" asked Sigma.

"Radical-6. It's a virus. It makes people kill themselves," explained Harry. "It explains why there wasn't a struggle like Phi said."

"That's possible," said Phi as the announcer started its message. People started to argue.

"That's enough," called Harry. "We haven't got time to argue. We need to go."

"I'm staying here," said Clover.

"Dio might get out if you do that," pointed out Phi. "He has six points right now. If you don't vote, Dio will be free to choose what he wants."

Harry heard the voices quieten as he headed towards the AB rooms. He pressed his hand to the scanner and entered the room. The gate closed and the sounds quietened. He hit start and closed his eyes. Which one should he choose?

Before he even realised it, he hit betray.

_Well, I suppose I can always come and choose another option._

He walked out as soon as he could and over to the projector. Everyone focused on it. Everyone except Luna had betrayed each other. But then, Luna was dead. Not like it was affecting her.

He listened to the other's conversations. It was almost like he couldn't be seen. The announcer reported that they had to find start keys.

"Where do we find the keys?" asked Clover.

"Behind the set of Chromatic doors," said Phi.

"Oh? You found them already?" asked Tenmyouji.

"They're right below us," said Harry. Everyone focused on him. "They're in the floor B Warehouse. They're white."

"Maybe that's where Quark went. The warehouse on floor B?"

Harry checked the time. Eighty minutes.

"We have to form the colour groups," said K.

"Time we had a look at our colours," suggested Phi.

"No change here," said Harry as he held out his arm. "Still black."

"I'm a blue solo," said Sigma.

"I'm a magenta pair," said Phi.

"As am I," added K.

"You and me, huh? Better than Dio, I guess."

"You say something?" asked Dio.

"What colour are you?"

"A green solo." Phi sighed. "What's with the sigh?"

"Forget about it. Harry, how do you get through the white doors?" asked Phi as she looked at him.

"Got that sorted. My bracelet colour changes to white near the white doors."

"I'm a cyan pair," interrupted Tenmyouji.

"Same here," said Clover. Sigma fished out Alice's bracelet.

"Alice and Luna have changed as well. They are the yellow pair," observed K.

"Then Quark is the red solo," said Harry as he rubbed his head.

"Normally you'd need red blue and green to form white," said Phi.

"The solos can't group," pointed out Sigma.

"That's why the pairs are cyan, magenta and yellow," explained Phi. "Magenta is a mix of red and blue, yellow is a mix of red and green and cyan is a mix of green and blue. If you combine magenta with green, you get white. The same goes with yellow and blue and cyan and red."

"Ok then. We just need to get to the floor B warehouse when the doors open, right?" asked Dio. "I'll be taking off then."

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Sigma.

"Anywhere that isn't here. Hanging out with a murderer doesn't sound like a good time to me."

"The guy who insists on splitting up is usually the first to bite it," said Phi.

"What?"

"Then again, loners often turn out to be killers," added Tenmyouji.

"Just what are you getting at old man? You think I killed them?" asked Dio in disbelief.

"Maybe, maybe not but you are pretty damn suspicious."

"I noticed that from the start," added Harry.

"Are you trying to start something, you wrinkled old piece of…!"

"Hey! Knock it off! We don't actually know that one of us is the killer, do we?" asked Sigma.

"We have no evidence of that, no, but we do know that Zero Jr is one of us," said K. "And there is an excellent chance that Zero Sr and the killer are one and the same."

"Then why did he kill Alice and Luna know?" asked Sigma. "If Zero Sr wanted any of us dead, he could have done it way before this. While we were, I don't know, unconscious for instance. What's the point of setting up the whole game just to kill off two of your parcipients halfway through?"

"Then are you saying there's another person running around in here?" asked Tenmyouji.

"It's possible. I think it might be a good idea to split up and look for the killer."

"Are you sure?" asked Harry in confusion. "The killer is, well, a killer. They could kill the person that found them."

"Well, we gain nothing by standing around here," said K.

"Yeah," agreed Tenmyouji. "I have to look for Quark. I have to find him, and soon."

"If we're going to search, we should go in pairs this time," said Phi.

"How are we going to pair up?" asked Sigma.

"I'm not going with K," said Dio. "If he decides he feels like snapping me in half, there's not a whole lot I can do about it."

"Coward," said Harry as he stared at Dio.

"I'll go with anyone besides Dio," said Clover.

"I don't want to go with Dio either," added Tenmyouji.

Phi sighed. "Dio's not my first choice but I'll go with him."

"What the hell?!" asked Dio.

"Just figured that this way, we don't have to make this into a huge argument. Besides, I'm going to be stuck with you once we go through the Chromatic doors anyway. No reason to put it off."

"I'll go with Sigma," decided K.

"Oh yeah?" asked Sigma.

"Would you prefer someone else?"

"No, I guess you'll be ok."

"I'll go with Clover," decided Tenmyouji. "That leaves Harry on his own."

"Sure. I don't mind." Harry shrugged. "I'll start looking somewhere."

He headed towards one of the doors as he listened to the others decide which door to go through. Sighing, Harry searched the Floor B warehouse as well as testing the range on his bracelet. A headache hit him before he was suddenly looking through Sigma's eyes.

"There's no one in the infirmary. No Quark and no killer, at least as far as I can see."

"Well, there is someone here. Technically at least." Harry winced slightly as he felt himself move and look at the old woman as K spoke. "The old woman."

"Yeah."

Harry watched as Sigma studied her.

"Huh? Wait a minute…. Look at her wrist." Harry stared at the blood stain on her arm. More specifically, the spot where there was no blood stain, right in the middle of it.

"It seems remarkably clean," commented K.

"Yeah. For some reason, this part has no blood."

"Maybe she had something on her wrist. A watch perhaps?" suggested K.

"A watch?" Sigma was dubious. Harry frowned as he studied the mark as best he could. The width seemed familiar.

"Yes. It was likely removed after she was killed. That would account for the lack of blood splatter on her wrist."

"A watch huh? I don't know about that. It seems a bit too wide for that." Sigma voiced Harry's doubts about the width. "Aren't women's watches usually thinner?"

"You raise a good point. Perhaps it was some kind of jewellery?"

"Jewellery? You mean like a bracelet or some…. Of course! Why didn't I see it?! This is the same size and shape as our bracelets! Look! It's exactly the same!"

"Then that would mean that…."

"She was wearing a bracelet when she was killed." Sigma finished K's sentence. "She was a participant just like us."

"Are you sure?" asked K. "This old woman, a player in the Nonary Game…"

"K?" Sigma asked when he fell silent for some time. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no. nothing. If you're right, then where did the thief hide the stolen bracelet? We were quite thorough during our earlier search. But I know that I saw nothing and none of the others reported finding a bracelet either."

"Then that means that they've been holding onto it this whole time. They've probably still got it," said Sigma.

"That would seem likely," agreed K.

"No, wait. If they'd been carrying it around, the sensors in the Chromatic doors would have picked it up. If the wrong combination was detected, the secondary door would have never opened."

"So our suspect is not just a killer and a thief but a skilled imposter as well," said K.

"What are you saying?"

Harry understood. The killer was one of the players.

"After killing the old woman, they put on the bracelet. In fact, it is entirely possible that they are wearing it now. Yes, that would make sense."

"So the killer is running around with the old woman's bracelet." Sigma trailed off.

"Yes."

"And you're telling me that they're probably wearing it?"

"Correct. Do you remember what Zero Jr told us? Something about how the bracelet will come off if the wearer's heart stops? I don't recall the exact words. But in any event, once the old woman had died, her bracelet would have come off, allowing the killer to easily collect it."

"Why?" asked Sigma.

"So they could play in her place."

"What?"

"I suspect that the killer wasn't meant to be a player so they killed the old woman and took her place. For what reasons though, I am unsure. They must have a goal of some sort. You would have to be mad to choose to come here. But as to what that goal id and how the killer intends to achieve it… I am afraid that I do not even have speculation."

"Hmmm. That's interesting," commented Sigma.

"Have you noticed something?"

"Well, there's blood all over the old lady's arm except for that one spot. Since that's where the bracelet was, then the bracelet the killer had should still have blood on."

"Right," agreed K.

"But none of us is wearing a bloody bracelet."

"Sigma, please tell me you're kidding me. The killer would, have course, wiped the blood off. Only a fool would walk around with a bracelet covered in blood."

"So, you're saying that they cleaned it?"

"Yes."

"Hmm…."

"Have you discovered something?"

"K! I know how we can identify the killer!"

"Oh?" asked K.

"We just need some of that luminol! It doesn't matter how well the killer cleaned the bracelet, there should be some traces of blood left."

"Ah, I see. That could very well work. We should have everyone gather in the rec room then. That was where the luminol was, I believe."

"First, we need to finish looking for Quark though. We've still got the infirmary and everything beyond the green door. Once we've done that, we van head back to the floor B warehouse to meet up with everyone."

"Understood. Shall we go then?"

Harry snapped back into his own body. "What was that?"

He shook his head as he rubbed the spot where it had hit the floor.

"I'd better get back to searching."

He stood up and resumed his search but no sign of Quark. People started to drift into the floor B warehouse.

"You're late," said Dio as Sigma and K arrived.

"You're one to talk," said Phi. "How much earlier did you get back again? I'd be surprised if you searched at all."

"Is this it?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah. Tenmyouji and Clover aren't back yet."

"So, find anything?" asked Dio.

"Yea, we sure did," replied Sigma.

"Yeah? Well, go on. Spill it," said Phi. Sigma explained how they'd found Quark. "I see. Well, that's good to hear."

"Little jerk, making us all worried," muttered Dio.

"Ate least he's safe for the time being," said Harry with a small smile.

"There's something else," said K.

"And that is?" asked Phi.

"There is still some cause for concern."

"Just spit it out!"

"Quark may have contracted an illness of some sort. As such, he has been left in the treatment pod."

"Will he be alright?" asked Phi.

"Yeah, he'll probably…"

"Probably? Do you even...?"

"Whatever. Al least we found him," interrupted Dio. "Pretty lucky that he's alive too."

"What do you mean by that?" asked K.

"I mean what I said genius. I'm glad he's not dead. Aren't you?"

"As equivocal as ever, I see."

"How kind of you to say so."

"So, was Quark all you found?" asked Phi. "The way you were talking made it sound like there was something else."

"Yeah, I'll explain that once Tenmyouji and Clover get here," said Sigma. "There's something I wanted to ask you about first though."

"What?" asked Harry.

"When you went through the green door, did you search two different rooms?"

"Two?" asked Phi.

"No, just the treatment centre," said Dio.

"I see. Then what was the other one?" muttered Sigma.

"What do you mean the other one?" asked Phi.

"You know that intersection with three doors? Well, when K and I went there, two doors were open. You guys unlocked the one that went to the treatment centre. But the other one…"

"Who could have opened it?" asked K.

"Don't look at me. I told you, we only opened the one that went to the treatment centre," said Dio.

"I doubt it was Zero Jr," said Harry. "There's no reason for him to."

Closing his eyes, Harry thought as he listened to the conversation.

"Tenmyouji and Clover are running rather late," said K after a while. "Should we go look for them?"

"No, there's something I want to check first," said Sigma.

"It's never easy with you, is it?" asked Phi.

"Well, let's get it over with," said Dio.

Sigma led them to the rec room.

"This is the rec room," said Phi. "Dio and I came here earlier when we were searching for Quark."

"So why are we here?" asked Dio.

"Was there something you needed to see?" asked Phi.

Sigma made his way over to the luminol and picked a bottle up then turned the light off. The room went dark.

"Whoa, what is this?" asked Dio. "Are you going to start telling ghost stories?"

"Why? You scared of ghosts?" asked Sigma.

"You're kidding me, right?"

"Then show me how brave you are. Stick out your bracelet. You too Harry and Phi."

Harry did as he was told.

"Our bracelets?" asked Phi.

"Yeah. I want to see the underside of them."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Dio.

"I mean the side on the bottom. The side without the display. Come on, are you really going to make me explain this?"

"I know what you mean! What I'm asking is what the hell you think you're…"

"Just do it," snapped Sigma. "It's not hard!"

"Should I also participate?" asked K.

"No K, you're fine. Your bracelet is a little different from ours. But I'll join in just to make it fair."

Phi and Dio hesitated before holding out their arms. Sigma did the same.

"This ok?" asked Phi.

"Yeah. Just hold it like that for a moment." Sigma sprayed the luminol across their wrists.

"Cold!" Dio jerked away. "What the hell man?"

"Don't see any glowing. Phi's bracelet is clean. So's Harry's…" muttered Sigma. "So's mine of course."

"That leaves only Dio," said K.

"Wait? What are you talking about?" asked Phi.

"I'll explain in a minute. just show me your bracelet," said Sigma. Dio hesitated. "Is something wrong? Come on Dio. Just show me your bracelet. We don't have time for this."

"Why do I have to do what you tell me to?"

"Because I'm trying to prove your innocence!"

"Like hell you are! I don't know what you're looking for but you're not going to find it on me!"

"Then just show me your arm!"

"No! You don't get to order me around! I have rights!" Dio made a break for the exit.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that Dio," said K as he blocked the path. Dio spun around towards the other exit.

"Stop him!"

"Right," agreed K.

"I don't know what you're talking about but ok," said Phi.

Everyone leapt at Dio and K managed to reveal his bracelet. It was glowing.

"I knew it! His bracelet's glowing!" exclaimed Sigma. "Then that means…"

"Let me go! Get off of me, you fuckers!"

"Dio. You killed the old lady," said Sigma.

"No! You don't understand! This is all some kind of mistake! Shit!"

"What's going on here?" asked Phi. "I think it's about time you gave us the whole story."

Sigma quickly explained what he and K had found on the old lady.

"So the person with the bloody bracelet would have to be the killer…."

"Yeah. Even if they wiped it off, I figured the luminol would still react to the blood."

"And know we know who the killer is," said Harry as he looked at Dio in disgust.

"We've got you Dio," said Sigma. "You might as well confess. Well?"

"Uh. All right, fine. You caught me. I did it. I killed the old bitch and took her bracelet."

"Why?" asked Sigma.

"Are you Zero?" asked Phi.

"No! I was under orders! I was sent her to… to do… something!"

"To do what?" asked Sigma.

"Who gave you your orders?" asked K.

"I'll die before I'll tell you."

"So your orders were more important than Alice and Luna's lives?" asked Sigma in disbelief.

"Whoa, whoa! Let's not get ahead of ourselves! I killed the old lady but that's it! I don't know anything about what happened to Alice and Luna!"

"That wasn't you?" asked Sigma.

"Tread carefully Sigma," warned K. "This man is not to be trusted. He's already shown that he's willing to lie and kill."

Harry crouched down next to Dio who tried to flinch away.

"Get away from me! Don't you dare try to use any of your freaky powers on me, freak!"

"Don't call me freak!" Harry punched him and broke his nose before regretting it. He wouldn't have done that before coming to this place.

"You thon of a thich!"

Harry sighed as Dio tried to stop the bleeding. "He's telling the truth about Alice and Luna. Don't ask me how I know though."

"He's still a killer," pointed out Phi. "You haven't killed as many people, that's all."

"I'm not denying that."

"He should be restrained somehow," said K. "If we leave him be, he may well kill again."

"But where would we put him?" asked Sigma.

"Is there a room we can lock or anything?" asked Phi.

"Ah. Perhaps we could put him in one of the treatment pods," suggested K. "Once we've locked it, he should be unable to escape."

"Hey, I'll be good! I promise," yelled Dio. He seemed to have gotten over his nose.

"Yeah, I think you're onto something K," said Sigma. "Let's go with that."

"Come on! Please! Hey, listen to me!"

"We'll let you out when the white doors open. Someone's going to need your bracelet to open the secondary door."

"Don't fuck with me you guys!"

"We all know you're dangerous," said Harry with a shrug.

"There's no way in hell that I'm going in that thing! Let go! Let me go! Goddamnit! I told you assholes to let me go! You can't do this! Stop! Stop! Please stop! Please, no you can't!"

K ignored his pleas and carried him into the treatment centre. He placed him in one of the pods and closed it.

"Open this fucking thing!" begged Dio as he slammed on the inside of the pod. "I said open it, goddamnit!"

"I don't think so," said Sigma. Dio made sounds of protest.

"You're going to pay for this! When I get out of here, I'm going to fucking end you!"

"I can't say I pity him," said Harry as they walked away.

"I guess we figured out who the murderer was," said Sigma. "And we found Quark…"

"Now, all we have to do is find Clover and Tenmyouji," added Phi.

"Why don't we go back to the warehouse and start from there?" suggested K. "They may have already returned."

"Good point," said Sigma.

"Let's go," said Phi. They headed towards the warehouse.

"Huh. Looks like they're not back yet," said Sigma.

"Perhaps they went to look for us…" K trailed off.

"Now we've got to go look for them," moaned Sigma.

"How much time until the white doors open?" asked Phi. Harry pressed the buttons on the bracelet and squinted at the white text.

"Fifty minutes."

"Then I don't think we really need to hurry yet. Why don't we wait for a little longer? For all we know, they're on their way back now." Everyone nodded. "By the way, there was something I wanted to ask you guys about."

"Oh, yeah?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah. Quark's bracelet. When we found him in the pod, he wasn't wearing it. Why?"

Harry shrugged.

"How should I know?" asked Sigma.

"Presumably, it had been taken off before we found him," said K.

"So we have no idea where it is," said Phi with a frown.

"Pretty much," said Sigma.

"I see," muttered Phi. "That's not good. Without that bracelet, we won't be able to continue the game."

"What?" asked Sigma.

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Harry. "There's only one combination of bracelets that would work, right Phi?"

"And we need three to go through," added Phi. "If we lose one…"

"We wouldn't be able to go through the secondary door!"

"Yeah."

"I'm so going to have PTSD after this," said Harry with a sigh. "If I survive."

"Who would be pairing up with Quark?" asked Sigma.

"Quark's bracelet should be a red solo," said K. "That means that he'll be with the

"Who's the cyan pair?" asked Sigma.

"Tenmyouji and Clover."

"The two people who are missing," added K.

"Quark's bracelets are gone and his two teammates are missing," said Phi with a frown.

"What's going on?" asked Sigma. "Does that mean that Clover and Tenmyouji took the bracelet?"

"Well, if they found Quark before we did, then there's a possibility of that," answered Phi.

"Then, why aren't they back yet?"

"It could have been the person who took it off," said Harry with a frown. "If someone else took it off."

"Perhaps they already went through the white door?" suggested K.

"What? No way." Sigma shook his head. "That's not possible. The primary doors haven't even opened yet."

"Perhaps someone opened one of them."

"How?" asked Sigma.

"I'd like to know that too," added Harry.

"I don't know. It's happened before though. Remember the three doors on the other side of the green door? Someone made one of them open. Perhaps this is the same thing."

"But that's against the rules!" protested Sigma.

"Yes, I know. But if the person opening them is Zero Sr, do you think the rules matter? Zero Sr controls the entire game."

"So are you saying that Clover or Tenmyouji is Zero Sr?" asked Phi.

"It is a possibility. It would explain why they still haven't shown up."

"Could they have really taken Quark's bracelet and gone through one of the white doors?" asked Phi.

"If they did, we wouldn't know where they are until the doors open for the rest of us," said Sigma.

"So I would assume," said K.

"This is still just speculation though," said Sigma as he shook his head. "Maybe we should go look for them again. One of us can stay behind so that we don't miss them if they come back."

"Ok," agreed Phi. "I'll stay here."

"Sigma, Harry and I will go see if we can find them then," said K.

"Make sure that you get back five minutes before the door opens alright?" asked Phi. "Oh, and don't forget to bring Dio with you."

"Of course" said Sigma.

The three passed the red door and entered the pantry.

"This is the pantry?" asked Sigma.

"So it would appear," said K.

"That was on the door," said Harry with a shrug, not mentioning that he'd been here before on another timeline. The two would never believe him.

"Well, looks like they're not here," said Sigma as they looked around.

"When we started looking for Quark, they were sent off to search everything beyond the red door. That would mean this room."

"Not going to do us any good to hang around here," said Sigma with a sigh. "Let's head upstairs."

"Very well."

They returned to the junction and entered the elevator. When it stopped, they went to the lounge.

"Not here either huh?" asked Sigma. "Tenmyouji likes scotch so much, I thought we might find him here drinking some."

"Well, they're not here," said Harry. "So they have to be somewhere else."

The two stared at K who started to act strangely. He was staring at the alcohol in a way that would have been blankly if they could see his eyes

"What's up?" asked Sigma. "You want a drink?"

"Oh, no. well, I would enjoy a drink but this mask…"

"Right. Sorry, that sucks." Sigma sounded sheepish. It was weird on a man his age. "Honestly, I'd gotten so used to the suit that I'd kinda forgotten you were wearing it. Why the heck did they make you wear that thing anyway? You still don't remember anything?"

"Well… actually…. I… I did remember a little."

"Really?" asked Sigma in surprise.

"Yes…"

"What did you remember?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah, it could be useful," added Harry.

"My… father."

"When did you remember that?" asked Sigma. "Did it just pop up out of nowhere?"

"Please, don't joke. This is serious."

"Sorry. So you remembered who your father was?"

"Yes. "

"What about your mum?" asked Sigma.

"That's if she was around," said Harry. "Not every pair stays together."

"I don't seem to have one. I…"

"Oh. So your dad raised you?" asked Sigma.

"Well…" K paused. "I was raised in the facility where my father worked. He was one of two people who worked there, the other being like an uncle to me. My uncle always spent some time with me. They were the only people I saw until I was older. That had been the situation for as long as I could remember though so I had never thought it odd. My father wouldn't allow me to go near him while he was working but the only times he wasn't working were the times when he was sleeping. The only communication I had was with my uncle and the education software he gave me. I suppose I was a fairly expressionless child then. We develop body language to communicate and since I had hardly anyone to talk to, I suppose it made sense. Once I learned to read and write, I began to realise that my situation was not normal. Many of my books mentioned a mother as a part of a family and in several, the mother; father and children would eat meals together and talk to each other. Soon I found myself longing for a mother of my own. Someone who would always be with me, who would scald me if I did something wrong. At night, they would read stories to me before bedtime. If only I had a mother like, I thought, I would be so happy. My uncle would read to me but I thought that it wouldn't be the same. So, for the first time in my life, I asked my father for something. He had finished working and was making his way towards his bedroom when I stopped him and asked for a mother. He looked at me silently before responding. 'Ok.' I remember to this day how happy I was at that moment. A few months later, he called me into his laboratory. It was the first time he had ever done anything like that my heart was beating quickly as I stepped inside. Standing next to him was a young woman and my hopes soared."

"He made you a mum," muttered Harry.

"But when he said her name, or rather her ID number, my hopes were dashed. He had given me a robot to play the part of a mother. I didn't want a mother that was just a machine who did what a human told her to. When I told my father that, he looked surprised for the first time in my life. Then he frowned, coughed and admonished me for being 'a whiner.' He'd never scolded me for anything before. At first I was surprised then angry. Hot tears streamed down my face. My father ordered the robot to take care of me and shooed us out of the lab. The robot was very convincing and she smiled and spoke as if she was a real person but I refused to answer her and locked myself in my room. You can talk to a robot and it will respond. But in the end, you're still talking to a machine, not a person. If that was what I wanted, then I still had the education software that my father had given me. When I ignored the robot as it tried to take care of me, it looked sad. It couldn't be sad of course: it was only programmed to look that way. A robot's façade of sadness didn't mean anything to me. After that, I stopped expecting anything from my father. We'd never really spoken to begin with so it was easy enough for me to make sure we never saw one another. My uncle did spend time with me but he would spend ages in his studies. He never seemed to change. Never aged. Anyway, I lived my life as if my father didn't even exist. Perhaps it seems strange to you that I continued to live with him. But I never considered leaving. Perhaps in the hidden depths of my heart, I longed for a relationship with him. Everything changed when I was eighteen. I left my room one morning to find a woman standing outside it. She was the first human I had ever seen apart from my father and uncle and I was understandably surprised. For a moment, I thought my father had created a new robot but when I told her that she laughed and explained that she'd come to help him and my uncle. As it turned out, she was a very mysterious person. She was much older than I was but something about the way she behaved was almost girlish. She and my uncle had known each other for years before he came here, proving that he was much older than he appeared. She would tell me stories about the world outside in such a way that I was never certain if she was telling the truth or making up fantastic lies."

"She went to that place willingly. I wonder," muttered Harry.

"Ultimately, the truth didn't matter, I loved her stories. She wasn't helping my father directly with his research so I spent most of my days with her. Before long, I discovered that she'd known my father when he was young. She told me stories of how he'd fallen in love as a younger man and I began to imagine that the person he'd fallen in love with had been her and that she was, in fact, secretly my mother. After she settled in with us, our long established routine began to change drastically. First we started to eat together. Before then, I had never shared a meal with anyone in eighteen years. She scolded me for my table manners, or more accurately, the lack of them. If I was going to eat with others, she said, I would need to be more polite. Having eaten alone for my entire life, manners had never been something I'd thought about. My father got in trouble too when he made the mistake of reading through research papers during dinner. And my uncle made the mistake of not washing after an explosion from his experiments. The look of surprise and embarrassment on their faces made me burst out laughing. I couldn't remember the last time I shared a laugh with my father. It might have been the first time. The room we considered our living room changed too. Before it had just been another room but she made it comfortable. After we finished our dinner and relax with her and my father. My uncle would occasionally have to check on his experiments. I never knew what they were but he would always say chemistry when I asked. That explained the explosions in my mind. These were the times I cherished the most. For a little while I got the family I'd longed for ever since I was a child. At her suggestion, I began to help my father's research. He specialised in genetic engineering and I discovered I had an interest in it as well. Time faded away as I lost myself in research. Now that we were working and studying together, my father and I had a great deal to talk about. For the first time in my life, we began to speak with one another like a father and son. Whenever I impressed him with something I'd learned, I felt a surge of happiness and it drove me to study even harder. My days felt full, right and meaningful but most importantly, I was happy. Four years passed in the blink of an eye until one day I happened to overhear my father, my uncle and the woman speaking in the laboratory. Their tone was serious so I listened closer, curious to know what they were talking about. That was when I heard her say that she planned to give her life to achieve her goals. It was clear that she wasn't being metaphorical. She would have to die. Then my uncle said something about making sure that wasn't necessary. She reminded him that he already knew the course of events. I was in shock."

"Yeah, hearing something like that would shock you," muttered Harry.

"The research I had thrown myself into would lead to her death? I asked my father to stop his research immediately. He refused to listen. She agreed with him. She told me that she had been prepared for what she had to do since the day she came to our facility. My father had known about it from the beginning as well. My uncle didn't like it but went along. He did however promise me that he would make sure that she lived in at least one timeline. But he also said that he couldn't stop her dying in all the timelines. I didn't understand. He had also known. Angry and disappointed, I began to investigate what exactly the research I'd been helping with was working towards. Perhaps, I thought, I could figure out a way to keep her alive. I discovered much more than I'd bargained for. To begin with, I learned that the ultimate success of my father's research would require a good deal of sacrifice. And I also learned that my own existence was just another part of his project. I had been created to function as my father's spare. If he died during his research, I was intended to continue it in his place. I was stunned. I was furious with my father and my uncle and with her and even with the research I'd poured myself into for four years. There was only one thing to do. Destroy the facility and end my father's horrible research once and for all. I made plans to destroy the main reactor and with it, the entire facility. But she saw right through me. My father was livid and locked me in my room until his research was complete. All I could think of was how I might stop him. She did her best to convince me that I'd misunderstood, that everything would be fine. As much as I wanted to believe her, I remembered that in the back of my mind that she had been the one who pushed me to become involved in my father's research. Had that been an earnest desire to give me something to do with my life or… Still, I couldn't bring myself to hate her. She had given me a reason to live. Even if she had conspired with my father and my uncle to mould me into his replacement, the warmth she'd shown me had been real. She'd made me feel as if I had a real family and that was something I wouldn't have given up for the world."

"That sucks," said Harry with a sigh.

"I pleaded with her to leave but she quietly shook her head. There was someone very special to her, she said. He had saved her life once and she felt her death would help repay that favour. She would have like nothing more than to marry him and live a happy, normal life together but she couldn't. for his sake, she said, and for the sake of the future she wanted, she was determined to see my father's research succeed. I realised them that although she was the most important person in my life, there was someone more important than me in hers. She tried to explain that beyond what we could see was a future where no one had to die but I refused to listen. What good was a potential future to me? It was I had now that I wanted. I couldn't stand to think that she's give her life for a man I'd never seen. So I shut myself off from the world. Perhaps that is why I lost my memory."

K let out a deep, tired sigh.

"I'm sorry. I lost track of time."

"It's ok," said Sigma.

"Not having any memories is less than desirable but it could be argued that regaining them is almost more taxing."

"So you remember almost everything?" asked Sigma.

"No. the details are still indistinct. Especially more recent events. I'm sorry but would it be alright if I laid down for a bit?"

"What's wrong?" asked Sigma.

"I don't feel very well…. It must be because I remembered so much so quickly. My head feels like it's going to explode."

"Are you alright?" asked Sigma.

"Yes. I think I just need to rest."

"Ok. You do that and we'll find Tenmyouji and Clover," said Harry.

"Take as long as you need," added Sigma.

"I'm sorry… thank you." K lowered himself onto the sofa as the two left. They didn't go far before they ran into Phi.

"What are you doing here?" asked Sigma. "You're supposed to be waiting back in the warehouse."

"Yeah, I know. I just decided to go check on you guys. I waited a long time and nobody showed up. Judging by your faces, you haven't found them either. Damn…"

"Yeah…"

"Where's K?" asked Phi.

"In the lounge," said Harry as he gestured in the general direction of the room.

"You decided to split up?"

"Well, not exactly," said Sigma. Phi opened the door and walked in.

"What's up with him?" asked Phi as she looked at K.

"I guess he's not feeling too well," said Sigma with a shrug. "He said that he wanted to rest for a bit."

"Is he all right?" asked Phi.

"I have no idea," said Harry with a sigh.

"We should leave him alone right now," added Sigma. "Remember, there's a real person inside that suit. I'm sure he's just tired."

"Tired huh… How are you feeling?"

"What?" asked Sigma.

"I feel tired just looking at you. Your face is like looking at a week old sock."

"Really? Well, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a little exhausted. I mean, all of a sudden I wake up trapped in some weird ass game and then dead bodies start turning up… Honestly, I'm amazed that I've managed to hold onto my sanity for this long. Just about everything here makes zero sense. The more I try and figure any of it out, the more I feel like my brain's just going to melt and run out of my ears. You know what I'm talking about, right? We managed to figure out who the killer was but there's still a hundred other questions we have no idea about. Where the hell are we? Why are we even here? What's this whole Nonary game thing even for? And what is Zero Sr up to? Hell, how about who Zero Sr is? The rabbit said that he was one of us…"

"Uh, I'm fine," said Harry with a confused air about him.

"So you think it's Dio?" asked Sigma.

"No, I don't think it's his style," said Harry with a head shake.

"Besides, we still don't know why Dio killed them," continued Sigma. "He said he was ordered to do it but… And there's more too. What about the old lady? Who is she? What's her deal? Hell, what are any of our deals? I don't know jack shit about anyone here. I don't even know anything about you Phi or you Harry."

"Are you serious?" asked Phi in annoyance. "You can't honestly suspect us, can you?"

"No, that's not it…"

"I'm just like you," continued Phi. "I was kidnapped on December 25th and brought here too."

Phi trailed off. A noise came from outside the room and they turned towards the door.

"You heard that, right?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah… It came from the hallway."

"If you mean that noise just now then yes," said Harry.

"Let's go have a look." They walked through the door and to the elevator to find nothing.

"There's nobody here," said Phi.

"Thank you captain obvious."

"Maybe they got on the elevator?" suggested Sigma.

"Let's try hitting the button. If the door doesn't open immediately, we know the elevator is downstairs."

Harry hit the button and the door remained shut. There was a small wait then the door opened.

"Thought so," said Phi.

"Let's go."

They stepped inside and waited as the elevator moved down.

"Which way?" asked Sigma. "Where did they go?"

"Let's just head for the green door," said Phi.

"Why?"

"Because the treatment centre's there. That's where Dio and Quark are."

"Uh, so?"

"You aren't worried? I just want to make sure they're safe."

"The girl has a point," said Harry with a shrug.

"They're fine," said Sigma. "Tenmyouji or Clover probably made that noise. Well, maybe both of them. But I don't think they'd hurt Quark or Dio."

"Then why didn't they talk to us?" asked Harry as he cocked his head.

"And are you sure?" asked Phi.

"Huh?"

"Dio admitted to killing the old woman but he still insists that he didn't kill Alice or Luna. What if he's telling the truth?"

"Are you serious?" asked Sigma in disbelief. "You're going to believe him?"

"It doesn't matter. I just want to make sure they're safe. No harm in checking."

"Or being careful," added Harry.

"All right. Fine," said Sigma after a pause. They strode through the door and towards the treatment centre. Sigma opened the pod with Quark in it. He was still sleeping.

"See?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Phi. "I was probably getting worried for nothing."

Harry walked over to the pod with Dio in as the two closed Quark's pod.

"How's Dio?" asked Phi. Harry twisted the handle and the pod opened.

"What the hell?" asked Sigma as they stared at him. His hands were around his neck. It looked like he'd been suffocated. Harry checked his pulse. Nothing.

"He's dead."

Harry picked up the bracelet.

"Look." Phi pointed at the screen. Harry read it.

Oxygen level: 0%

Status: Dead

"The oxygen level for his pod says 0%."

"Yeah, we can read Phi," said Harry.

"Then that means he asphyxiated," said Sigma. "But why?"

"Someone must have tampered with the pod," said Phi thoughtfully. "And lowered the oxygen levels."

"Who?" asked Sigma.

"We should go tell K about this," said Phi. Sigma paused. "Come on! Let's go!"

Harry and Phi ran out the room.

"Is it just me or does everybody end up dead in this game?" asked Harry. "Because across all the timelines I've seen, people either end up trapped in this facility which means they're trapped for life or they die or they escape."

Lounge

"K! Wake up! Something's happened!" yelled Sigma as they burst into the room. He shook K when he didn't respond. K sat up and looked at them.

"What is it?" They explained what had happened. "What? But why? I thought that Dio was the one who killed the old woken, Alice and Luna… Then who killed him if he was the murderer?"

"Who knows?" asked Harry. "Someone wanted him dead, that's for sure."

"The only people who could have done it are Tenmyouji and Clover," said Sigma thoughtfully.

"It might not have been a person," said Harry as he wiped the sweat of his brow. "It could have been the rabbit."

"Or it could have been Quark," said Phi.

"What? No! That's impossible! Are you suggesting that Quark woke up, opened the pod from the inside, killed Dio then went back to sleep?" asked Sigma in disbelief.

"No, I'm just saying that strictly speaking it's a possibility. So just, you know, take it into consideration."

"Well, I hate to say this Phi, but in that case, doesn't that mean you could have done it?" asked K.

"Me?" Phi looked surprised.

"Yes. You could have done it any time after we left you."

"Don't give me that. I was waiting for Clover and Tenmyouji to show up. They never did though so I got impatient and went to find you. Then I bumped into Sigma and Harry in front of the lounge."

"So who did it?" wondered Harry. "I mean, I don't particularly like Dio but I wouldn't kill him."

Phi continued on to explain to K the sound they'd heard.

"I see. So you heard something." K sounded thoughtful. "Then perhaps it is likely that Clover and Tenmyouji were at fault."

"Were the three of you together the whole time you were investigating?" asked Phi.

"Yes. The only time we weren't was when K went to sleep," said Harry.

"You never split up?"

"Phi, I just said that we didn't," said Harry as he shook his head.

"Nope."

"In any event, we don't have a great deal of time to discuss it," said K. they checked their bracelets.

"Oh crap," swore Sigma. "We've only got seven minutes!"

"Alright," said Phi. "Let's get back to the floor B warehouse. Maybe Tenmyouji and Clover are already there."

"Oh, where is Dio's bracelet?" asked K.

"His what?" asked Sigma in confusion.

"Here." Harry dug it out of his pocket and handed it to K.

"And one other thing." K pulled out two bracelets from somewhere. "I need to give you these."

"The yellow pair bracelets…" muttered Sigma as he shoved them into his pocket.

"Alright, let's get going," said Phi before running out the room. Harry ran after her and he heard footsteps behind them.

"Shit. They're not here," said Sigma as they reached the warehouse.

"Maybe they did go through the door like K said," said Phi thoughtfully.

"I don't think so," said Harry as he shook his head.

"With Quark's bracelet?" asked Sigma.

"Or …"

"Or what?" asked Sigma.

"Where could they be?" wondered Harry.

"Oh come one! You'd better not give me that they might be already dead crap! I got enough of that form Dio," said an annoyed Sigma. Phi remained silent. "You've got to be kidding me! This isn't funny Phi! If you're right then you, K, Quark, Harry and I are the only people alive in here!"

"Hey, lay off! I want to believe that they're alive too," said Phi. "But…"

The turned as they heard a noise.

"Where did you go?" asked Harry as K entered.

"I'm sorry for keeping you. I went to check Dio and Quark."

"Why?" asked Harry. "There's no reason to."

"Just call it curiosity. But I think you ought to see this."

K pulled out a bracelet. The three stared at the shattered display.

"But, how?" asked Harry. "It was fine when I handed it to you."

"Perhaps a delayed timer or something," suggested K. "I assume whoever murdered Dio did this."

"Why?" asked Sigma. "There's no point."

"I can't say for sure," said K as Harry studied the bracelet. "But if I were to guess, it would be to stop us going through the chromatic door."

They were interrupted by a mechanical voice.

**Transfer completed. Use the buttons to navigate through colours and pairings. Use the bracelet to act as a substitute.**

"What was that?" asked Harry.

"I'd like to know that too," added Sigma.

"Harry… your bracelet." Phi stared at it. "I think it's different."

"What?" Harry checked the colour. "A green solo? But, how?"

"I think your bracelet can act as a replacement if another bracelet gets damaged," said K. "Obviously it can only work for one."

Harry pressed one of the buttons on the side and the display turned to black. He pressed it again and the display turned back to green.

"Well, I can say that I would prefer to work with you rather than Dio," said Phi with a shrug.

"There's something I want to try."

Harry placed his bracelet near to Sigma's and the colour changed to blue. He looked at Phi who shook her head and placed her bracelet near Harry. The colour changed to Magenta and the pairing changed to pair.

"Now that is useful."

The doors opened.

"So, I go as a green solo with you and K and Sigma will go on his own?" asked Harry.

"But where are Tenmyouji and Clover?" asked Sigma.

"I wonder. Did whoever kill Dio want to kill me and K?" asked Phi. "That would explain why they broke the bracelet."

"Possibly. But they didn't count on my bracelet being able to act as a replacement," said Harry. He headed towards the door before frowning and pressing the button to cycle through to green solo. He moved again and groaned. "Please don't tell me I have to charge just before the white chromatic door. The colour keeps changing to white!"

Sigma clutched his head.

**One minute remains until Chromatic doors close.**

"One minute?!" asked Sigma in surprise.

Phi and K ran over to the door and waited.

"Come on Harry!"

Harry ran over to them and changed the colour to green.

"Please work."

The doors closed just as he got the right colour.

"Oh dear," said K.

"This isn't good," said Harry. "We're dead. At least in this timeline."

There was a sharp, quick pain in his wrist. Everything started to go blurry and Harry fell to the ground. He pulled out the injection gun as quickly as he could, forcing himself to stay awake. Wo did he choose? No, there was only one option. He crawled over to Phi and injected her.

"What the hell… did you…?"

"I injected you with neostigmine," explained Harry. "It's the antidote to the muscle relaxant."

"Why me?"

"Do I have to have a reason?" Harry forced a smile. "I'm sure we'll meet again Phi. If not in this timeline then another. I can't really die."

Phi's eyes fluttered closed and Harry glanced at K before frowning.

"Open?"

Sigma had crawled over too.

"Wait… but when could he have opened it?" whispered Sigma.

"So, you killed Dio."

"K! Wake up! Come on, talk to me!"

Sigma shook K before he woke up.

"Sigma…"

"I just need to ask something! Did you kill Dio?" K remained silent. "You weren't sleeping, were you? After we left, you took off the armour. You didn't want to go the same way I had so you went out the other door and took the long route to the elevator. We bumped into Phi and returned to the lounge to check on you. We saw you… or your armour I guess. By then you would have been out of it. While we were in the lounge, you went to the treatment centre and killed Dio. You must have turned the oxygen off to his pod though I guess you didn't stick around to check that he died. I bet that you were in a hurry to get back before we noticed something was up. Once you got back, you needed us out of the lounge so you made a notice and ran back the long way. You put your suit on and waited for us. As soon as we found Dio, we did as you expected. You pretended to wake up when we called you."

"Your reasoning is correct. I did kill Dio."

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Because I couldn't forgive him. He took the life of someone very important to me. I couldn't…"

"Who did he kill?" asked Sigma.

"The… The old woman."

"What?"

"She was like a mother to me. She showed me how to see… How to see meaning in my life…"

"Wait, are you saying…?"

"Yes. I am. She was the woman who came here when I was eighteen."

"Whoa, hold on." Sigma shook his head. "What do you mean, here?"

"Sigma… unfortunately we're out of time. There's something I have to tell you. I made a promise. That you would hear it. Do you understand? This is very important. You must pay… attention. You cannot forget. If you see a loin with two heads devouring the sun, remember… remember these letters. MIL…KEV….OLI. this will open the second gate."

"What the hell?" asked Sigma. K didn't respond. "Hey! K! Who told you to tell you that? No! Who are you?! Show me!"

He pulled K's mask off and stared in surprise. "WHAT?!"

Harry stared at K. He looked kinda familiar but he was certain that he's never seen him before. Sigma looked like he had seen a ghost. "No, that's… That's impossible! That face! It's my face!"

Harry was about to ask what Sigma was talking about when he felt the needles prick him and he collapsed.

"The second drug…" muttered Sigma.

Everything started to blur and slipped away.


	6. When many jumps are required part 1

I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's Last Reward.

When many jumps are required part 1

Harry glared at the inside of the AB room before immediately jumping to the AB game behind the yellow door and pressing ally. He exited the AB room as soon as he could and walked over to the projector. He frowned as the results appeared. This time, the results of the AB game were flipped, at least for his group. He stared as the three turned into a one.

"Sigma… Phi… Harry… I'm sorry…." Tenmyouji stared at the floor.

"Why?" asked Harry.

"Tenmyouji chose betray?" asked a confused Sigma. "He chose ally last time…"

Harry raised an eyebrow as he looked at Sigma.

"Last time?" asked Tenmyouji. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, um, nothing…"

"Right…"

"Anyway, why?" asked Harry as he tried to distract the man.

"Look, I'm sorry. I swear."

"Yeah, well, mind if I don't trust your word."

"Sum, I know that I acted out of order but past events with you caused me to act irrationally around you."

"Sum?" Harry frowned. "Why are you calling me Sum?"

"So that's what you meant," Tenmyouji mumbled to himself. "Just like Seven…"

Harry opened his mouth to ask more of the man but Phi spoke before he had the chance.

"See? I told you Sigma. A soft heart is the easiest to break. Do you understand what kind of game this is now?"

"There's always a way," interrupted Harry. "Just because one world is doomed doesn't mean that another is doomed."

Phi frowned at him.

"And you know exactly what I'm saying Phi."

"I see. You're saying that there's hope if we made different choices, influenced the past…"

"Just tell me one thing Tenmyouji," said Sigma. "Why did you do it?"

"Because it brings back unpleasant memories?" asked Harry. He didn't know where the words came from but he knew it was the truth. "Perhaps you've been in a similar situation?"

"Are you serious?" Harry knew he hit a mark. "Someone's dead and not just dead, murdered. I've got no reason to think that that murderer wasn't one of you. Only an idiot trusts someone he's never met when there's a killer on the loose. You think we had a choice?"

"If only we had some luminol," mused Harry. "The killer would still have some blood on them, no matter how well they cleaned it off. That would find the killer."

Tenmyouji stared at him. There was a barest hint of a smile. "That sounds like the person I know. Anyway, I never did thank you for helping to save Akane all those years ago. Even if trouble follows you like a stray puppy."

"All those years ago?" Harry frowned.

"I think that's enough from me. I'm old and tired. So tired…"

_Radical 6…_

Tenmyouji shuffled off.

Harry caught the last words of an argument.

"…you're a jerk!"

"I can agree to that. And Quark, I believe you when you say you didn't press the button!"

"That's nice of you Harry."

Harry barely listened as Zero Jr closed the gates and the announcer said that they had closed. He only paid attention when everyone announced their colours.

"Mine's magenta now," said Sigma.

"Mine's magenta too," said Clover.

"Me too," added Quark. "Hey, wait. It wasn't just the colour that changed. I'm a solo now."

"Looks like Clover and I are still pairs though," commented Sigma.

"Huh. I'm still black," said Harry as he held his arm out for the other's benefit. Of course he already knew he'd be that colour. "I guess I'm stuck with it, right?"

"Correct Hattie!"

"I'm a yellow pair now," said Alice.

"I am yellow as well but it seems I'm still a pair," said K.

"Then who's the yellow solo?" asked Alice.

"Me," said Dio."

"Still a solo," said Tenmyouji. "Looks like I'm cyan."

"I'm a cyan pair," said Luna. "Aren't you one too?"

"Yeah," agreed Phi.

Harry zoned out again as he considered the options. He barely listened to the others conversation.

"You alright Harry? You've changed," said K.

"Uh, I'm fine. Just trying to make sense of this situation." Harry pressed the wall where he found the hat and put it on.

"Hey, Hattie. How you're doing?"

"I really don't want to talk to you right now Zero."

"Aw, but you're going to have to put up with me. You're stuck with me and the bracelet for life!" Zero giggled.

"Psycho rabbit."

Harry pressed the buttons on the side and watched as the colours changed. He jumped back in time and discreetly copied the colours and parings of the others before returning to the future.

He wandered around the facility and copied the other's colours. Eventually, he ended up in the infirmary.

"Is Quark alright?"

"He just collapsed," explained Luna as she scanned him.

"I know what's wrong with him. I feel terrible saying this but Quark is... Quark has a viral infection."

"Oh no..." whispered Phi

"Radical-6," added Harry.

"Have you heard of this virus?" asked Sigma.

"I told them about it before they left for the lounge," said Phi.

"What? No, that can't be right." Tenmyouji looked to be in a state of shook. "Quark can't be...there must be seeing we can do! How can we cut him?"

"Well, the ADAM says there is a serum called Axelivir. It's the only way to counteract the virus. If we inject him with some, he should be ok," explained Luna.

"Where is it?!"

"Was there none in the infirmary?" asked K.

"We looked everywhere. We didn't find anything," explained Phi.

"We didn't find anything in the crew quarters either," added Clover.

"No link in the lounge," added Dio

"Oh God. Then he's going to...Oh God no." Tenmyouji collapsed to his knees.

"Quark?"

Turning to the machine, everyone looked at Quark.

"Quark! Oh thank God. You're awake!"

"Get away from me!" Quark picked up a scalpel and prepared to stab himself.

"What? Quark, what are you...?"

"Sorry grandpa. I can't. I have to..."

"Have to what? What are you using about?" demanded Tenmyouji.

"Isn't it obvious? I have to escape."

"But how?"

"Like this."

Quark's hand moved like lightning. Sigma stopped him.

"No! Let go! Let go off me!"

"Pretty tough kid," muttered Sigma. "I could use a little help here."

"Stop it! Let go off me you jerks!"

"Tenmyouji! What the hell are you doing? Get over here! Tenmyouji! Can you even hear me?"

"Oh. Right."

"Damn you! Bastards! Why went you let me go! I have to get out of this body! They can't lock away the soul! Once my body's gone, my soul can escape! Please! You have to let me go! Let me go! I'm trapped here! Let me die! I have to die! Kill MEEE! Somebody! Anybody! Kill MEEE! Kill MEEE! Kill MEEE!"

His cries were heart breaking. Harry closed his eyes and wiped the tears away.

"Jesus, this kid has lost it," muttered Sigma. "Someone get that scalpel away from him."

Clover grabbed it.

"Good job Clover." Quark didn't notice as he continued to struggle. "What are we going to do? We've got to calm him down."

"Luna! Are there any tranquilizers in here?" asked Phi.

"No. Well, I mean..."

"What?"

"There's Soporil β."

"Soporil?" asked Dio.

"That's the anaesthetic," reminded Clover. "The one in our bracelets."

"Good. Perfect," said Phi. "Hit him with that."

"What?" asked Tenmyouji incredulously.

"He'll be fine! It's just an anaesthetic."

"Made up your minds! This boy is sure strong," complained Harry. Luna injected Quark before turning to the screen.

"Everything's normal. He's in a very deep sleep."

"I guess we're good for now," said Sigma in relief.

"How long will he be out?" asked Phi.

"A few hours."

"He was strong for such a little guy," commented Dio.

"I think that might be the virus," said Luna. "It could attack the past of the brain that controls reason. With that down, his body was using everything it had."

"How do you know?" asked Dio.

"Other viruses could do a similar thing," suggested Harry.

"So, when Quark tried to kill himself, was it because of radical-6?" asked Clover.

"I think so."

"So, what kind of virus is Radical-6?" asked Sigma. Everyone looked at the newspaper article.

"Is this a quarantine zone?" asked Clover.

"That's not possible." Dio shook his head.

"Why not?"

Harry zoned out. He only zoned back in when they walked to the Chromatic doors. They opened.

"They're open! We need to hurry!" exclaimed Clover.

"Who's going to go in which door?" asked Luna.

"Uh… What are our options?" asked Sigma.

"We're almost out of time," said Phi. "Pay attention, we've only got time to do this once. Just like before, there are three possible options."

The magenta pair could go with the cyan solo through the blue door. The cyan pair could go through the green door with the yellow solo. The magenta solo could go through the red door with the yellow pair.

The second option was that the magenta solo go with the cyan pair through the blue door. The magenta pair could go through the red door with the yellow solo. The yellow pair could go through the green door with the cyan solo.

The last option was for the magentas to go through the green door, the cyans to go through the red door and the yellows to go through the blue doors.

**Three minutes remain until the chromatic doors close.**

"So, how do we want to pair up?" asked Sigma.

"It doesn't concern me. I can go with anyone," shrugged Harry.

"I think the people with the greatest disadvantage should chose," said Alice.

"What do you mean?" asked Sigma.

"The people with one BP," explained Alice.

"So you, Phi, Luna, Sigma and Harry?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Yes, exactly."

"Alright then. Who do you want to go with Alice?"

"Anyone but Dio. I'd rather die than get paired up with that prick. Just anyone but him."

"Damn, that's a lot of hate," muttered Dio.

"What did you expect?! You betrayed me!"

"Hey, I told you already! That was Quark!"

"I don't believe you!"

"What, are you telling me that you trust him more than me? Anyone other than Dio could mean Quark you know. You willing to pair up with him?"

"He's asleep! I don't really think I need to worry about him voting."

"All right Phi. Who do you want to go with?" asked Clover.

"Anyone other than Tenmyouji is fine. My reasoning is the same as Alice's. He betrayed me last time."

"I guess that's fair…" muttered Tenmyouji.

"If we want to honour Alice and Phi's requests, then we can go with any option besides C," stated K. "So A or B."

"Hold on," interrupted Tenmyouji. "We've got three other people with one BP although I guess it doesn't really matter which door Harry goes through. How about you Luna?"

"I… I don't really have a preference. Clover and K did betray me last time but…"

"They're both pairs now. And since you're a pair too, there's no way you'd end up going through the same door as them," concluded Sigma.

"Yeah."

"Alright then Sigma. How about you?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Uh, let's see…" Sigma thought for a second. "I'll take Dio. That means the red door for us."

"Whoa. Betting on the dark horse, huh?" asked Dio. "Feels kinda weird to say that about myself. Anyway, might as well be polite. Thank you."

"Are you ok with that Clover?" asked Sigma.

"Well, I don't really trust him but if Alice really wants to go with option B…"

"Yes, this works fine," agreed Alice. "K, Tenmyouji and I will take the green door. It's not great but it's better than Dio. I'm good."

Dio snorted.

"I'm willing to do option B," said Tenmyouji. "Quark should be fine if he's with Luna."

"Ok. I'll take good care of him. I promise."

"What about Phi and K?" asked Sigma.

"No problems here. I'll take Quark and Luna and we'll do the blue door."

"I also approve of option B," said K. "I will take the green door, correct?"

"Yeah, good. Looks like we're all set." K handed Quark to Luna.

**Ten seconds left until chromatic doors close.**

"Come on guys! Hurry! The door's already closing!"

"Coming!"

"I know, I know!"

Harry leapt into the red door with them. The door closed behind them and they continued onto the junction.

"What is this?" asked Sigma. "There's three different doors."

"Kinda noticed that," said Harry as he stretched.

"Which one do we take?" asked Dio.

"Dunno but it looks like they're all locked anyway," commented Clover.

"So this is a dead end?" asked Dio. "Great."

One of the locks beeped as Harry pulled the lever.

"What?" he asked as everyone looked at him. "It's the only thing we could do."

"Looks like the others are still locked though," said Dio as he glanced at the other two locks.

"Through the centre one then!" exclaimed an excited Clover. "Forward!"

Harry followed her through the door.

"What is this place?" asked Sigma as they stared around the room.

"It's a laboratory," said Harry.

"That's what it said on the door, right?" asked Dio. "I figure that means that they're dissecting frogs or building mind rays or something."

"A laboratory huh…"

"Do you think they might research stuff like viruses here?" asked Clover. "If they do…"

"Good idea!" exclaimed Sigma. "We might be able find some of that Axelivir!"

"If we do, we can cure Quark!" exclaimed an even more excited Clover.

"You really think it would be that easy?" asked Dio.

"There's nothing wrong with a little hope," said Harry. "As long as you don't get too depressed."

"Shut it. Just saying that this place hasn't been set up for us to succeed so far."

"Well, we won't know until we look," said Sigma. "So let's get started."

Harry picked up some seeds.

"Is this a microscope?" asked Sigma.

"Looks like one," said Harry with a shrug before studying a nearby machine.

"It's pitch black in there," said Dio as he peered in it.

"There's four holes on top," said clover. "Do we need to stick something in them?"

Harry picked up two empty capsules and more seeds before flicking through the binders. Sigma found yet more seeds. Fiddling with the pipes, Harry filled the beakers.

"So, what's your story?" Harry hissed as he heard Dio's voice from right behind him. "I mean, you have been fainting on us for a while."

"Don't ask me anything about that. I have no idea why that happened. It only started when I came here."

Harry crouched down and started to match the seeds with the beakers. He collected the capsule that appeared.

"You've turned not very trusting all of a sudden."

"There's a reason for that. I don't know any of you Dio. For all I know, you could be a clone of someone as well as a terrorist."

Dio flinched as Harry said that. Picking up some saline solution, Harry studied the shelves before picking up the frog. Walking over to the drain, he tipped the ethanol down and placed the frog on the bench. Finding a scalpel, Harry sliced it open to Clover's protests and collected the blue capsule. Fiddling with what apparently a DNA extractor, Harry got a yellow capsule and placed them into the microscope to reive a password. Inputting the password into the safe, they opened it.

"What have we got here?" asked Sigma. "First is a map."

"And some moon cards," added Harry as he pulled them out and handed them over before pulling out a notebook. Flipping through it, he frowned. "I don't think this is English though."

"Is that medicine?" asked Clover as Sigma pulled out a bottle. "What does it say on the label?"

"Axelavir…"

"That's the medicine Quark needs," said Harry. "The cure for radical 6."

"Whoa, hold on. Let me see that." Dio tried to snatch it from Sigma.

"Later! We need to get out of here as soon as possible!"

"Yeah, we need to get this stuff to Quark," agreed Clover.

Harry picked up the key and unlocked the door.

"Hey, hold on a minute," said Dio as they made to go through the door. "There's something… No, I guess there's a couple of things I wanna double check. Well, one of them is not really significant I guess…"

"Huh?" asked Clover.

"First off, this machine. We didn't even end up using this thing, did we?"

"Yeah," said Sigma.

"I was just wondering what it was."

"Well, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer that…" Sigma trailed off. "Hmm. Look at the side here. There's a name or something. 'IG replicator'?"

"Replicator makes it sound like it makes copies of stuff," said Clover.

"So it's like a copy machine?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah. Probably copies… IG. Whatever that is."

"A medical term probably," said Harry with a shrug. "Or a science thing."

"Any ideas?" asked Sigma.

"Who knows," said Clover. "Ice Cream by the gallon?"

"Of course! This machine must be here so we can make all the ice cream we want," said Sigma sarcastically. "Are you nuts?! You're one idiotic girl, you know that? In other words, an IG."

Harry sniggered.

"Oh, good one," said Clover.

"Hey, this isn't the time for stupid jokes," snapped Dio. "There's a helpless child back there who needs our help. At any rate, as long as awe don't know what IG means, we can't do anything with this machine, right?"

"That's right," agreed Clover.

"Makes sense," continued Dio. "On to the second issue. Sigma, you found a journal and some sort of vial in the safe, right?"

"Yeah…"

Harry frowned. Dio was up to something.

"The vial… could you show it to me again?"

"Why?" asked Sigma.

"I didn't really get a good look at it before. You guys were in there so close I could barely see it. Was it really Axelavir?"

"Yeah, definitely," said Sigma as he pulled it out of his pocket. "See, it's written right there on the label. Axelavir."

"Heh. You really are an idiot."

"Huh?" asked Sigma. Harry realised what Dio was doing.

"Sigma, move away from Dio."

"Heh. Looks like the kid is clever after all. I guess in this case the G in IG stands for Guy."

"What? I don't…" Dio snatched the vial from Sigma as soon as he got the words out. "Hey! What gives?!"

"What are you doing?" asked Clover.

"Getting blackmail," said Harry bitterly as Dio slipped the vial into his pocket.

"I'll keep it safe. I'll even give it back to you later."

"No, not later," snapped Sigma. "Give it back now!"

"I don't think do. If you want it back, you're going to have to listen to my request."

"Request?" asked Clover.

"Yeah, that's what I said. If you want this back, in the next AB game, you have to choose ally."

"Ally?" asked Sigma. "Wait, is that why you took the medicine? To blackmail me?"

"That's horrible," said Clover. "You're using Quark's life as leverage."

"You're a sick bastard Dio," said Harry as he glared at the man.

"Well, I've got some really good reasons to do so," said Dio. "I'll be happy to give it back if you just do as I say."

Sigma curled his hands into fists.

"Ah ah ah. I wouldn't try to take it back by force if I were you. You make any sudden moves and I'll smash it." Dio patted his pocket gently. "Oh, and one more thing. Don't tell those other idiots that you found some Axelavir in here. I hear one word about it and the next thing you hear will be little bits of glass shattering on the floor."

"Damnit," muttered Sigma.

"That's not fair," protested Clover.

"This game isn't about compassion," pointed out Dio. "And it's not about being clever. It's about one thing. How well you can manipulate people to your advantage. How unfair you van be. So, what are you gonna do? Ready to promise me you'll pick ally?"

"Fine," muttered Sigma after a pause. "I promise."

"Sigma!"

"And you Harry? You are alone after all. Sigma can't speak for you."

"I really wish I could kill you right now but fine, I promise not to pick betray."

Dio laughed. "I knew you'd say it eventually. I'm glad you understand how this works. But don't think about trying anything funny. Break your promise and you know what happens. See you chumps later. I'm really looking forward to the next round."

Dio strutted out of the room.

"Are you really going to do what he says?" asked Clover.

"Yeah…"

"Sigma, Harry, you've only got one BP right now," pointed out Clover. "If Dio betrays you, you will die."

"Have you ever heard of self-sacrifice Clover?" asked Harry. "It doesn't matter about me as long as Quark gets better."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because there aren't any options left Clover. Unless there's something that I can use to save my life. If only we have some neostigmine."

"Well, we should get back to the upper floor," said Sigma. "Everybody else is probably finished already. I bet they're waiting for us."

They walked back towards the elevator.

Warehouse

Harry ignored the announcement

"Sorry. I went ahead and opened it a bit early."

"Dio…" muttered Sigma as he looked at the moon key in Dio's hand.

"You don't mind, right? I figured you, Harry and Clover would get up here right away. Besides, I though t it'd be best to get this out of the way before you lose your nerve. I donno about you but I'm really looking forward to the next round."

"Urg…"

Harry glanced at Alice and K as they arrived. Phi had also arrived.

"Where's Tenmyouji and the rest of them?" asked Sigma.

"They're in the infirmary," explained Alice.

"We carried Quark to one of the beds," added K. "Tenmyouji and Luna are looking after him."

"I see."

"How's the little guy?" asked Harry."

"Hi situation hasn't changed."

"So what was your room Sigma?" asked Alice.

"A laboratory."

"Is that so…" muttered K.

"Did it look like the kind of place where they'd be researching viruses and DNA and that sort of thing?" asked Alice.

"Yeah, it did," said Clover.

"Was there any of that Axelavir?" asked Phi. Harry winced slightly and phi looked at him.

"No. nothing."

"I see…"

"So, how'd it go with you?" asked Sigma. "Find anything interesting?"

Phi shook her head. Alice and K shrugged.

"Hmm… where does that leave us?" asked Alice. "We've still got about forty minutes until voting ends."

"What are you going to do?" asked Clover.

"I'm a little curious about that lab you found. I thought I might go take a peek at it."

"I'll show you the way then."

"That would be wonderful."

"I think I'll go have a look at the room Alice, K and Tenmyouji found," said Dio. "Never know, you might have missed something. Perhaps there's some Axelavir hidden somewhere in there…"

"Then I will take you there," said K as Harry glared at Dio.

"What about you three?" asked Alice. "Where are you going?"

"I'll… I'll… hmm… Well, I think I'll start by heading over to the infirmary to see how Quark's doing," said Sigma.

"Then I will too," said Phi. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Glad that's settled." Alice and Clover disappeared through the magenta door. Dio and K followed them.

"Ok then," said Sigma. "Guess we should be going."

"Hold on. Show me that journal first."

"Uh…"

"Dio told me about it," explained Phi. "He wouldn't tell me anything about the lab except that you found, in his words, a journal in some sort of bullshit language. He said you had it so I was hoping I could take a look."

"Yeah… one sec…" Sigma pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to Phi who started to look through it.

"This is Latin."

"Latin?" asked Sigma.

"Language of the romans," said Harry. "Wait, if you can understand Latin, can you tell me what 'Nostra facimus Fortuna' means."

"Something like we make our own fate."

"You mean you can read it?" continued Sigma.

"Yeah, with time and a dictionary."

"So, in other words, no."

"Pardon me for not being able to translate a dead language on the fly. This looks like some kind of research log. It's not going to be some sort of 'I took the dog for a walk today. It was nice,' sort of stuff. I can understand a little of it, mostly conjunctions and things like that but most of those words I've never seen before." Phi leafed through the book again and stopped. "Wait. I can read this bit. Page… page 216. This isn't research notes. It looks like a personal entry."

"What does it say?" asked Sigma.

"Tell us," begged Harry.

"Don't rush me. This is going to take a minute… hmm…" Silence. "Interesting. Alright, I think I got it. It looks like they're talking about Radical-6."

"What? Why are they talking about that?" asked a confused Sigma.

"Not sure. Let me read it to you. Keep in mind that I'm paraphrasing. 'When the body is infected with Radical-6, the processing speed of the brain is reduced. If we assume that the brain currently operates on a 1:1 basis in regards to time, Radical-6 reduces this to 1:√(1/6) or approximately 1:0.408. This means that for each second that passes 'outside,' the patient feels that only 0.408 seconds have passed 'inside.' Therefore, when one second has passed 'inside,' approximately 2.25 seconds or √6 seconds, have passed 'outside.' In other words, when ten seconds pass in the real world, a person infected with Radical-6 would feel as if only four seconds had passed. This is why the virus has been termed Radical-6. Radical is another term for what is also known as the root operation, the function inverse to the taking of a power. In a less mathematical sense, it can also be used to refer to something that is extreme or severe. Those infected with radical-6 eventually develop a powerful urge to commit suicide. The exact cause is unclear, and although there is as of yet no direct link between suicidal urges and the reduction in mental processing speed, many believe that they are not unrelated. Those infected with Radical-6 perceive the world to be moving at a fever pitch, as if it were a video cassette being fast forwarded. For instance, although the patient believes that only ten seconds have passed, in fact 24.5 seconds have passed. Given this increased speed of input, maintaining the ability to observe and reason would become a herculean task. One theory holds that the disparity in time perception causes the brain to be flooded with massive amounts of data. Unable to keep up, the brain begins to fail. Whatever the cause, the infected individual invariably attempts to take their own lives which is arguably the most terrifying aspect of the virus. Research suggests that a targeted antiviral could kill or at least disable radical-6 but we have been unable to develop one. It seems our best hope now is to harvest antibodies from someone with a natural immunity to the virus. Thus far, however, we have been unable to locate a suitable subject so I have continued my efforts to discover an alternate means of treatment. Given my current rate of progress, I predict that I will have a workable treatment within a decade or two. It is my fervent hope that humanity so be able to survive that long. The bodies of those dead from suicide are piled up along the road kidding into and out of town. The entire area reeks with the stench of decay and the sky is filed with the constant buzzing of files. At times, their swarms are so think that when one passes, it feels as if a cloud has gone over the sun. Every day I see more crows and rats are everywhere, feeding on the dead. Ironically, the only healthy looking creatures are the cats who have grown fat on a plentiful rodent diet. The few humans that have survived the outbreak have been locked away by the government in underground shelters. I don't know how many were saved but I fear only a handful. Their survival is the only hope that remains for the human race. Oh, Lord please... let your future be a bright one.'" Phi stopped reading.

"Whoa, that's a lot of information," said Sigma.

"Also morbid," said Harry.

"Now we know what the virus does to you though," continued Sigma. "If you get infected, your brain gets slowed down by the root of one sixth. That's... what, about 40%?"

"That isn't the important part. 'Those infected by radical-6 eventually commit suicide.'," said Phi.

"Yeah... You're right. That would explain why Quark was... well, trying to kill himself."

"Poor little guy," said Harry.

"There are two other things in here that worry me. First, the bit about how they haven't managed to develop a treatment for it yet. What do you make of that?"

"Well, we don't know how long it has been since that entry was written," said Harry. "A treatment could have been found."

"What are we supposed to make of it?" asked Sigma. "There's a drug called Axelavir that cures it."

"Exactly. But the journal says it might take twenty years to make something like that."

"Hold on a second. I'm getting confused. When was this thing even written?"

"December 29th. No year."

"Well, there's no way out was written this year," said Sigma.

"Yeah, probably not."

"And a cure could have been found sooner that person expected," added Harry.

"Anyway, moving on. The second concern I have is about the underground shelters it mentions. The newspaper article said something about quarantining people too. After we read it, we all thought the same thing. What if this was one of those quarantine facilities? But this journal seems to suggest the opposite. 'The few humans who survived the outbreak have been locked away by the government in underground shelters.'"

"You're trying to say that this place might be one of those government shelters," said Sigma. "Which means we were all supposed to be uninfected. We would have been thrown in here to keep us safe."

"Except we're not," said Harry as he glanced at his bracelet.

"Yeah. I mean there's no way to say for sure at this point but it seems possible," said Phi.

"But Quark's been infected, right?" asked Sigma.

"Then maybe the virus got in somehow."

"Oh joy," said Harry. "We have a suicide inducing virus and you're telling us that it's floating around in here. We could all be infected by now."

"Just think about it for a minute. If this is one of those shelters, a lot of things start to make sense. Maybe we've been here for a long time. Like, maybe they put us to sleep somehow. Made us sleep for years, maybe even decades. While we were sleeping, the pandemic that newspaper article talked about happened and whoever had this journal made this entry."

"And once the antiviral medicine was finished, they woke us up?" asked Sigma. Harry sighed.

"Uh, Phi, I don't think that works. Remember when I'm from?" Phi stared at him before nodding.

"What are you talking about?" asked Sigma.

"Nothing. It's just speculation after all."

"No, that doesn't make sense. I mean, it seems like a pretty plausible scenario but we were all captured before the pandemic started, right?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah."

"And how would they have put us to sleep for that long? How would they have known to do that? But most importantly, why the hell are we playing the Nonary Game if the point of this place is to save us? Throwing a bunch of people into a game that might kill them is a pretty weird way to protect them from a pandemic."

"Yeah, you're right," said Phi after a second's thought.

"See?"

"We don't have enough information to make any real conclusions. I think we should have a look to see if we can find anything else."

"Hey, weren't you coming to the infirmary with me?" called Sigma as Harry chased Phi to the magenta door.

"I changed my mind! Tell me about Quark later!"

Phi ran through the door.

"Man..." muttered Sigma before releasing a sigh and headed towards the infirmary. Harry paused before following him.

Infirmary

"How's he doing?" asked Sigma as they arrived.

"He seems to be stable as far as I can tell," said Luna.

"Still sleeping," added Tenmyouji.

"I see. Mind if I take a look?"

"Please, go ahead," said Luna.

They made their way around the partition to Quark's side. Harry thought about what he could do in the next AB game.

"Grandpa... Grandpa..."

Sigma's fists tightened.

**Ten minutes remain until Ambidex Game polling closes. All players please enter your votes. If no votes are recorded, all non-voting parties will default to ally.**

"Looks like it's almost time," said Tenmyouji. "You two should head back."

"What about you?" asked Sigma.

"Not going. I'm worried about Quark."

"But you're a solo. If you don't vote..." Luna trailed off.

"I'll automatically ally. I know. I heard the voice on the intercom just like you."

"What are you going to do if K and Alice betray you?" asked Sigma.

"Well, he's not going to get penalised," said Harry.

"Nothing I suppose. Just means I lost that round. I'd just be voting ally anyway. You know who my opponents are, right? Alice only has one BP left. If I picked betray and they choose ally, I'd kill her. In not so desperate for escape that I'm gonna kill someone for it. And even if I was, I wouldn't leave Quark behind. Ya see? Doesn't matter if I go into the AB room or not. My vote's the same either way."

Harry made his way into the AB room and everything went black.

AB room

"Huh?" Harry checked his bracelet to see a three. He tried to jump back but got knocked back. "Oh joy."

He jumped forward to the choice of chromatic doors.

"I'll take Tenmyouji do we'll go through the blue door," decided Sigma. Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't comment. It wasn't the first time that Sigma had made a different choice.

"Me?" asked a surprised Tenmyouji. "But I picked betray last time."

"Exactly," agreed Sigma. "So I'll just make you pick ally this time. Well, I guess I should say that you won't have a choice."

"Is that so? Mind telling me how you'll do that?"

"Heh. I'd love to but we don't really have time. Ask me again later, ok?"

There was a tense pause.

"Fine. You're on."

"So, we're doing option A," said Phi. "That means Luna, Dio and I will go through the green door."

"Which leaves the red door for Quark, K and me," finished Alice.

"Any objections?" There were none. "Good. Let's go."

"Listen... take care of Quark, right?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Don't worry," reassured K.

"I'll watch out for him," added Alice.

Harry ran through the blue door with Sigma. The doors closed behind them. They followed the path to the now familiar intersection.

"Three doors…" muttered Sigma. "Which one should we take?"

"That seems like kind of a silly question," replied Clover. "I mean, they're all locked, aren't they?"

Harry pulled the lever and the middle door opened.

"Hey, it looked like one of them opened," commented Sigma.

"But only one," pointed out Clover.

"I guess that's where we're supposed to go." Harry strode through the door and through the corridor behind it.

"So this is the exit huh?" asked Sigma as they entered the room and looked at the door. He tried to open it but, as usual, it was locked. "So what the heel is this place?"

"The door said PEC," said Tenmyouji. "Housing it is not for working out."

"It looks like it's probably an acronym or abbreviation or something but what? Prepared emergency chocolate? Private ecclesiastical commode?" asked Sigma.

"Ohh, wait a sec..." Everyone turned to Clover. "There's a manual here... I think it's explaining what this room is for..."

"What's it say?" asked Sigma.

"Hold on... this facility is pressurized, maintaining much higher air pressure than the surrounding environment. Airborne viral contagions..."

"What?" asked a surprised Sigma.

"Quiet," snapped Tenmyouji. "Keep reading Clover."

"Right. Airborne viral contagions have necessitated this step, which is intended to prevent contamination of the installation."

"Didn't work very well as Quark's ill," commented Harry.

"So persons wishing to exit the facility may do so though this pressure exchange chamber. Once the chamber had been sealed, the pressure can be lowered to match the surrounding environment. Before the PEC can be depressurised, all occupants must be wearing level A hazmat suits to prevent infection. The PEC will not function unless all occupants are wearing appropriate protective equipment." Clover finished reading.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here?" asked Sigma. "Are they trying to say the air out there is full of some horrible virus?"

"Sounds like it," said Harry.

"I don't think it's just any virus," said Tenmyouji.

"It had to be Radical-6," said Clover.

"Oh man," muttered Sigma. "Then that newspaper article was true."

There was a period of silence. Eventually Clover opened a locker.

"Is this one of this hazmat suits the manual was talking about?"

"Yeah, I figure they probably are," said Tenmyouji.

"We won't be able to get into the pressure exchange thing unless we've got those things on," added Sigma.

"And getting that room to decompress is the only way to get outside," finished Clover.

"As long as the door on the other side isn't locked," pointed out Harry. "Or doesn't lead to a dead end. Do you think Zero would leave such an obvious way out?"

Silence.

"So, where is the actual decompression room?" asked Sigma after a couple of seconds.

"Downstairs I guess," said Harry. They stepped on nearby lift and rode it down to the room below.

"This room's divided into two floors, upper and lower," commented Sigma.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," muttered Harry.

"We're on the lower floor right now. Earlier we were on the upper one," added Clover.

"Then this is the actual pressure exchange chamber," said Tenmyouji as he looked at the room next to them. He tried to open the door but failed. "No good."

"Why is everything locked around here?" asked Harry. "It's a bit inconvenient. Don't answer my question."

"Let's humour me for a second," said Sigma. "Let's go put on those suits, come back here and try the door again. Maybe, just maybe, we can get out."

"I bet you five quid that we won't be able to," said Harry then stared at everyone's confused Looks. "I forgot you were Americans. Never heard of five pounds?"

"I see. You're British then?" asked Tenmyouji. "I thought you had a strong accent."

"Hey, to me, you're the ones with a strong accent."

"But you have a point. Do you really think it would be that easy?" asked Tenmyouji as he looked at Sigma.

"It's hard to believe that Zero Sr would make that big of a mistake," commented Clover.

"Well, let's have a look around anyway," said Sigma. "Maybe we'll find something about that virus."

"Yeah, good idea," agreed Clover.

"Not like we've got anything else to do," added Harry.

"What are we standing around for then?" asked Tenmyouji. "Get to it."

Harry walked over to the door and studied the panel. He touched it.

**Before entering the decompression chamber, please put on your viral protection suit. Failure to do so will prevent you from entering the decompression chamber.**

Sigma tried to open some lockers behind Harry but it sounded like they were locked.

"Is that a barometer?" asked Clover as she studied a dial. "The needle's in the middle. It says it's one point five atmospheres. That must be the normal pressure for this building. Remember? It said something in the manual about the pressure in here being higher than the pressure outside."

Harry entered the lift and crouched down.

"Is there something there?" asked Clover. "It looks like the glass panel is supposed to open."

"Then there are these numbers. 25113," read out Harry as he tried the glass but it was locked. Why did he expect any different? Everyone climbed on and they returned to the upper level. Harry collected an instruction manual for the pressure exchange door. There were some symbols that Harry quickly memorised then everyone pulled a protective suit on and returned to the door on the floor below. Sigma tried to open the door but it was still locked.

Harry touched the screen and connected the dots," causing the door to open and they entered. He grabbed a tablet then memorised the numbers on the bench.

"A model of Zero Jr huh?" muttered Sigma as he looked at the big rabbit. "It looks like it's plastic."

"Yeah, it's inflatable like a beach ball," said Tenmyouji.

"Well, it's damn creepy, that's for sure," said Sigma. Harry had to agree with him. "And that door is wielded shut."

"You owe me a fiver," said Harry with a straight face.

"I'm going to get this off," said Clover. "There's no point in having it on."

She walked out and headed upstairs. Something rumbled.

"What the hell was that noise?" asked Sigma.

"I don't know… but I've got a bad feeling about this," admitted Tenmyouji.

**Preparation complete. Now beginning decompression. Three… Two… One…**

"What the fuck!" yelled Sigma as the air began to be sucked out the room. "Why did that happen?!"

"Hell if I know!"

"Let's get out of here," shouted Harry. He tried the door but it wouldn't open

**Pressure differential is too great to open door. **

"Damn," muttered Tenmyouji. "I guess we'll have to equalise the pressure before we can get it open."

Sigma turned. "Gah! It got big!"

Harry ran to the machine next to the glass. "The needle's all the way to the left!"

"0?" asked Sigma. "That means we're in a vacuum!"

Harry hit the red button but an error noise beeped.

**Insufficient power for repressurisation. Please rout additional power.**

Sigma poked the rabbit and it exploded. Harry took the metal plates off the wall then collected some laser emitters and inserted them into the wires. Something powered on and Harry hit the red button again.

**Repressurisation preparation complete. Repressurising… now.**

The pressure returned to normal. Harr collected the Zero Jr doll and they walked over to the door. Harry reopened it and they exited the room. Unlocking the lockers, Harry rummaged through a cardboard box to find junk. He opened another one to find a blank journal with a slip of paper inside. They headed back upstairs.

Can we take these off now?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah, I think so," said Clover. "I mean. We unlocked the door to the decompression chamber, right?"

"Yeah. No point keeping the damn things on now," said Tenmyouji. The three pulled them off and Clover put them away. Harry placed the doll on a chair and connected the tablet to the USB cable but nothing happened. Pressing the button on the lift, Harry collected the key and unlocked the locker. He put the small protective suit on the doll and put it back on the chair. He quickly solved the puzzle and collected the password then opened the safe.

"Hooray! It opened!" cheered Clover. They started to pull everything out. There was the traditional map, the cards, a memory card and a key. He unlocked the door and they walked through the corridors to the Floor B warehouse.

"Is this another warehouse?" asked Sigma.

"Looks just like the one on the last floor," commented Tenmyouji.

"There's even a big old door in the same spot where the number nine door is in the other warehouse," said Clover.

"True but it's rusted over. I don't think it's opening any time soon," said Sigma.

Harry closed his eyes. He was feeling a little bit sleepy.

"No lever to open it anyway, that I can see…" said Tenmyouji.

"I want to know what those are," said Clover as she gestured to the white chromatic doors.

"Those white doors?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Are they Chromatic Doors?" asked Sigma.

"Probably," said Harry with a shrug. He ignored the rest of the conversation.

**An Ambidex gate has been opened. Forty five minutes remain until Ambidex game polling closes.**

"What?" asked a surprised Sigma.

"One of the other teams opened the gate early!" exclaimed Clover.

"What in the hell would the y do that for?!" asked Tenmyouji.

"Come on. We don't have time to talk." Harry strode towards the door and followed the corridors to the elevator.

Once they'd got to the floor A Warehouse, they found two people waiting for them. K and Dio.

"Where's quark?!" demanded Tenmyouji.

"We took him to the infirmary," explained K. "At the moment, Phi, Alice and Luna are looking after him."

"Is he alright?!"

"I don't know if I would describe him as alright but apparently his condition has not worsened, if that's what you mean. He is still resting. However, we…."

"Good," interrupted Tenmyouji. "I'm going to the infirmary."

"Ah! Tenmyouji! Please, wait!" called K. Tenmyouji ignored him and ran through the yellow door.

"Oh dear," muttered K. "He's gone. There was something I needed to tell him."

"Well, it's not like it matters," said Dio. "The girls will just tell him when he gets there. He oughta calm down once he's seen the kid."

"What are they going to tell him?" asked Clover.

"Well, you see…" K explained what had happened.

"What?" asked a surprised Sigma.

"You found virus medicine in the laboratory?" asked Clover.

"Yes. Unfortunately, we found only a single vial."

"Then we can cure Quark's radical six," said Sigma excitedly.

"So it would seem."

"Well, I guess we should head over to the infirmary," said Sigma. "And see how he's doing. C'mon, let's go."

"Right behind you."

Harry followed the two to the infirmary.

"He'll be fine now," said Luna as they entered. "It might take some time for him to fully recover but the worst is over."

"Is he really going to be ok?" asked Tenmyouji as Luna put the injection gun away.

"Yes. We analysed the vial and confirmed it was definitely Axelavir. Now that I've administered it…"

"The Axelavir should eradicate the virus completely, given enough time, right?" asked Phi.

"Yes, that should be the case," agreed Luna.

"Thank goodness," said Alice in relief.

"Yeah, what a relief," added Clover.

"He shouldn't even be here," said Harry. "Not in this game."

"Things were pretty sketchy there for a while, that's for sure," said Phi.

"Phew," muttered Tenmyouji. "Alice, you and K… I don't know what to say other than thanks. You saved his life. I don't have the words to tell you how much that means to me."

"Oh please," said Alice. "It was nothing, really. We just happened to be the ones who went through the red door."

"Where is K?" asked Tenmyouji. "He's not in here."

"He's still in the warehouse," answered Clover. "Dio and K stayed behind."

"They stayed behind to wait for you guys while we came back here," added Phi. "We figured someone should explain what was going on so you wouldn't come back to an empty warehouse."

"So Dio and K were the ones who opened the AB gates?" asked Sigma.

"Not both of them," said Clover. "There was only one door open."

"Well, we should get back and tell them how Quark's doing," said Alice. "K will want to know at least."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Sigma. He headed back to the other side of the room.

"That's right."

"Huh?" Sigma turned to Tenmyouji as Harry joined him.

"You know that memory card we found?"

"This thing?" Harry pulled it out of his pocket.

"Yeah. I think I know how we can take a look at it." Sigma looked confused. "What, you don't remember? There was a memory card just like it that we used to solve the puzzles in here."

"Yeah, he's right," said Phi as she joined them. "There's a slot next to the screen. It should work for this one too."

Harry slotted it in. a wave appeared on the screen.

"Is there an audio file on here?" asked Luna. "Why don't we turn up the volume a bit?"

Luan tapped a few buttons a voice drifted out of the speakers.

"This is control. How's it going over there? Bet you missed the sound of my voice, huh? Well, I've gotta be honest, it's getting pretty lonely over here too. Feeling like howling at the moon, lone wolf style. Speaking of which, I'm looking at it right now and the old girl is beautiful. Never seen a moon this full and that colour... tonight is that eclipse, remember? What a way to end 2028, huh? The moon's this amazing red… if it wasn't so beautiful, it's be kind of ominous. Wish you guys could see it too but… Ah, sorry, forgot. You're supposed to be on Mars, aren't you? So, um, how are Phobos and Deimos looking right now? Sure hope I'll get to look up at them someday too. Anyway, over." Silence. "Something wrong? Talk to me guys. What, you're playing hard to get because we haven't talked in so long? Enough jokes, alright? Knock it off. Where are you guys? Is there something wrong with the radio? You're saying everything's green? Well ten, what the hell's going on here? Why aren't they responding? No, the video feed's online. Look, you can see all nine of them, three at each table. What?! Someone hacked our feed? What do you mean, this isn't live? An old clip on repeat? Who would do that? What in the hell is happening here? This is control, repeat, this is control. Please come in. I'm asking you to respond!"

"This is…"

"Oh thank God. You really had me worried there. What happened?"

Silence.

"Six of us are… dead."

"What?"

"Counting myself, there are only four of us left."

"How? Why are…?"

"They were killed."

"What?!"

"I guess you could say I killed them. No, no. that's not quite right. Not just them. Not just these six…. All of them. All six billion. Soon I will have killed six billion people."

Silence again.

"Are you there?!" the voice was in a panic. "Respond! Damnit… This is control, I repeat this is control. We have an emergency situation! We have an unconfirmed report of six deceased test subjects! Deploy rescue and escort teams to the test site immediately! Shit… what the hell happened in there?"

"Is that it?" asked Sigma as the voice disappeared.

"Yes," said Luna.

"What was that?" asked Harry. "It sounded like something bad happened. Six billion people… perhaps that was the release of Radical 6."

Alice looked thoughtful. "That's a possibility."

Tenmyouji wasn't shocked like everyone else.

"Do you know something Tenmyouji?" asked Clover.

"Yeah, I think I do. It's probably a transmission from the Mars mission test site."

"Mars?" asked Luna.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Phi.

"You mean some kind of space travel?" asked Clover.

"What kind of test site was it?" asked Alice.

"Did you know that the government is developing spaceships with particle annihilation engines?" asked Tenmyouji. "These ships would be able to get humans to Mars a lot faster than old chemical rockets. But they don't want to just send a manned Mars mission off half cocked. That was the idea behind this test. They built a whole complex on this old Air Force base in Nevada. The idea was that it would be a simulation of a manned mission to Mars with a crew of nine men and woman. They'd monitor the whole thing and use the data to plan the real thing."

"So what we listened to was a transmission from that project?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah."

"Why is something like that here?" asked Clover.

"Donno why. We found it in the safe, no explanation. Dollars to donuts, it's got something to do with Zero's plan."

"You mean, we were meant to hear what was on that card," said Phi.

"Yeah," agreed Tenmyouji.

"Zero must be a bit of a psycho," said Harry with a head shake.

"That's all very interesting but how exactly do you know about all this?" asked Alice.

"About the simulated mars mission?"

"Yes."

"I was involved with the project."

"Involved?" asked Sigma.

"The intent was to create as accurate a simulation as possible," continued Tenmyouji. "That meant we'd need to simulate the radio silence we'd experience during conjunction."

"What's a conjunction?" asked Clover.

"It means two things in space are close to each other. In this case, we're talking about a superior conjunction where Earth and Mars are on the exact opposite sides of the sun. So unless we get some kind of relay there'll be a period of time where we won't be able to communicate with each other. What we heard on that card was when the simulated conjunction was scheduled to end."

"That's when they died," said Luna.

"No, we don't know that. They could have died long before that conversation. All we know is that was when it was discovered."

"This is turning kind of morbid." Harry shivered.

"So six of the test subjects died, right?" asked Phi.

"Yeah."

"Well… do you remember what she said?" asked Sigma. "There was something about how she didn't just kill six people. She said six billion. What the heck did she mean by that?"

"Just what the hell happened there?" asked Alice. Tenmyouji looked down at the floor.

"The truth is that there's a possibility that a virus escaped from the test site."

"A virus?" asked Clover. "Wait, you don't mean…"

"Yeah. Radical-6."

"What?" asked a surprised Luna. "How can that be?"

"I'm just telling you what I know, ok? Nobody was sure how Radical 6 got in there in the first place but one of the subjects might have been infected when they entered or the virus might have been an intentional part of the simulation. The test site deaths became the index case for a pandemic. Anyway, prevailing wisdom says it got out somehow and once it was out, it spread pretty quickly. All across the planet."

"And it killed six billion people?" asked Phi.

"Well, not directly. Best numbers only put a third or so of those deaths were directly caused by radical 6. The other four billion dies from the collapse caused by the deaths of that first third. The whole world just fell apart."

Everyone was silent.

"Wow. Um… damn. I have a lot of questions. I don't even know where to start. I don't even know where to start knowing where to start," said Sigma. "Well, no, take that back. Explain that date. Unless I heard this wrong, the day the Radical-6 got out was December 31st, 2028."

"Yeah."

"But the day I got grabbed by the guy in the gas mask was December 25th, 2028."

"Me too," agreed Phi. "Christmas day."

"I was kidnapped on Christmas too," added Luna.

"Clover and I were taken three days earlier, on the 22nd," said Alice.

"Yeah," agreed Clover.

"Then you see what I'm saying, right?" asked Sigma. "That recording was made close to a week after we were all picked up. What the hell is going on here? That thing is from the future!"

"Or the past," pointed out Harry. "We don't know what the date is."

"You see…" Tenmyouji was interrupted by the announcer saying that they had ten minutes left before voting closed. "We're out of time. We need to go back to the warehouse."

"Wait," protested Sigma. "You haven't answered…"

"Don't care. I'd need more than ten minutes to explain everything."

"Leave it for now Sigma. We can ask him again later," said Harry. "Right?"

"Right." Tenmyouji nodded. "Half-assing it is just going to make you more confused. Get moving."

"But…"

"That's enough! Shut your damn mouth or I'm picking betray!"

"Hey, c'mon now," said Clover nervously.

"Fine. Do what you want but I need to get back to the AB rooms. I'd like to stay here with Quark but he seems to be doing alright."

"I'll stay here with him," offered Luna. "Phi can do the voting for our pair. I can trust her. Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah, sure," said Phi slightly dismissively.

"Well, if you're willing to do that, I'd be much obliged. Thanks Luna. Take good care of him."

"Of course. I'll make sure everything goes fine."

Tenmyouji gave her a nod before dashing out of the room.

"Well, that's that, I guess," said Tenmyouji. "We should be going too."

"Yes," agreed Alice. "We'll have to wait to hear the rest of what he has to say later."

"I'd rather just get it all out in the open now but there's not much we can do," said Phi.

"Yeah, we have to wait," said Harry. "Come on. We have to vote."

"Let's get going then," said Clover and they walked out the room.

"Hey, where's Dio?" asked Sigma as they entered the warehouse and explained the situation to K.

"He has gone into his AB room," explained K.

"Already?" asked Alice.

"Indeed."

"Then he was the one who opened the first AB Gate, right?" asked Clover.

"Of course."

"That sounds just like him," said Harry.

"This is bad. I won't be able to talk with him," said Phi. "This is going to limit my choices."

"You've only got one BP left, don't you?" asked Alice.

"Yeah. Luna's the same."

"If Phi choses ally and Dio picks betray…" started Clover.

"Phi and Luna will penalised," finished K.

"What a bummer," said Harry.

"I don't have a choice. I'll have to pick betray. The risk with ally is just too great."

"Hey, Alice, don't you have one BP too?" asked Sigma.

"That's right. But K and I will be playing against Quark."

"And he'll default to ally," said Clover. "I guess you don't need to worry about getting penalised then."

"But what if Alice and K pick betray?" asked Sigma.

"You needn't worry. That will not happen," reassured K. "Even though, as you told me, Quark is revering, he is still weak. Moreover, he is only a child. To betray an innocent child would be…"

"Yeah. That would be unthinkable," agreed Alice. "Even if you ignore his age or condition, it would be unfair to take advantage of someone who can't vote."

"It better not happen," said Harry.

"So you'll vote to ally?" asked Sigma.

"Yes."

"Of course."

"Well, shall we go?" asked K.

"Yes."

The two disappeared into an AB room as did Phi.

"Do you remember what you said to me when you chose the blue door?" asked Tenmyouji. "Something about how you'd convince me to choose ally. Seems like now is the time to let me know how you're going to convince me."

"Well, it's not that complicated. I promise you that Clover and I will vote ally. That's it, pretty much," explained Sigma.

"Hmm. I see. And you figure I'll believe you because you've only got one BP. Once you've told me that you plan to choose ally, I can't chose betray. Since if you're telling the truth…"

"You'd kill both me and Harry," finished Sigma.

"Not a bad plan but it assumes that I've taken killing you off the table. Seems like a risky bet for you."

"I disagree."

"And why is that?"

"Clover's BP is six. If you ally and we betray then she'd have enough points to escape. She could run off through the number nine door as soon as this round is over."

"I'd never…" protested Clover.

"That's easy for you to say. But think about it from my perspective. Sure you'd might not but you also might. If I guess wrong then that's a pretty big loss for me."

"Well, what if Clover tries to seduce you to get what she wants?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Huh?" asked Clover.

"That's just an example. What I'm trying to say is that once you two are in that room, Clover may try to make some kind of bargain with you. I'm asking you what you plan to do if that happens. Are you sure you'll still choose ally?"

"I don't have that problem," said Harry. "I'm always alone."

"Seduce me, huh?" muttered Sigma.

"Hey! What are you staring at, you perv! There's no way on Earth I'd do anything like that! As if! In your dreams creep!"

"Well, that's that then," said Sigma as Clover calmed down slightly. "Not gonna lie though, I'm a little disappointed."

"So I can trust you?" asked Tenmyouji. "You're going to choose ally?"

"Yeah," agreed Sigma.

"You can trust us."

"Promise?"

"Of course."

"We promise."

Harry nodded his head.

"All right. I guess I'll vote ally too then."

**Three minutes remain until Ambidex game polling closes. **

"Well, it looks like we don't have much time left. I'm trusting you."

"I'm trusting you too," replied Sigma. Harry walked over to the AB room and pressed his hand to the scanner. The gate opened and he stepped in. moving over to the back of the room, Harry hit ally as soon as he could. The gate opened again once the voting was finished and he walked over to the projector. The results showed up and he relaxed once he saw that everyone in his group had allied. Only Luna, Phi and Dio had chosen betray and that was to be expected. Glancing at his bracelet, he saw the three.

"Looks like you managed to trust me," said Tenmyouji.

"Well, it seems like I made the right choice," said Sigma.

"And it's not like I would do anything else," added Harry.

"Only did what I said I would."

"You really helped me out," said Sigma. "Thanks."

"I could say the same thing. No need for thanks."

Clover looked less than pleased. "That was a bad choice Sigma. And after I told you I'd listen to anything you said."

"Did something happen?" asked Harry.

"Aw well. Whatever." She sent Sigma an annoyed look before stalking off. Harry turned to watch Phi and Dio arguing.

"You tried to kill me and Luna. Can't say I'm surprised."

"Oh, don't give me that. You knew exactly what I was doing. I knew you weren't stupid enough to pick ally. You'd defend yourself with betray, just like I would. Wait. Where's Luna?"

"In the infirmary, looking after Quark."

"Is that where Alice went too?"

"Alice? No, she went into one of the AB rooms with K."

"Yes, we did indeed enter together," agreed K. "When the doors opened however, she left, somewhat unsteadily, in the direction of the Cyan door."

"She left the warehouse?" asked Phi.

"Indeed."

"Without even checking the results?" asked Dio.

"Correct. There was little reason to check them."

"Yeah, it's not like Quark was going to betray you," agreed Phi.

"Indeed."

"And you two still chose ally? Man… what a pair of bleeding hearts."

"If you say so. Being mocked for my compassion is a small price to pay for retaining my humanity."

"Well, not everyone is like you Dio," said Harry. "Some people don't like to take advantage of others."

"Where did Alice run off to?" asked Clover.

"While we were in the AB room, she mentioned something about being quite tired. Perhaps she went to one of the cabins to rest."

"Oh. Well, I guess that would make sense."

A rumble filled the warehouse as the gates closed. Harry ignored the announcement.

"We can open the gates as many times as we want?" asked Sigma.

"That means the star keys can be used to play the AB game any number of times. If I understood that announcement correctly, that is," said K.

"Hey, didn't Zero Jr say something about this?" asked Dio.

"Yeah, he did. Can you show me your bracelets?" asked Sigma. "I want to see what our colours and groups are this time."

"There's no point in me doing that," said Harry. "We all know what I'm going to be. I am stuck as a black solo after all."

Everyone else showed their bracelets.

"Huh? It looks like all the colours are weird," said Sigma. "Clover's a cyan pair and Phi's a magenta pair but Tenmyouji is a yellow pair."

"The three solos are red, green and blue. K's red, you're blue and Dio's green," said Phi.

"Then how are we supposed to group up for the Chromatic doors?" asked Sigma.

"They're white, remember?" asked Harry. "To make white, you combine red, green and blue. As the solos can't go together, the pairs are cyan, magenta and yellow to make up for it."

"In this case, the option would be that the yellow pair, Tenmyouji and whoever else had the yellow bracelet, group with Sigma, the blue solo, the magenta pair, me and the other magenta, go with Dio, the green solo, and K, the red solo, goes with Clover and whoever else is in the cyan pair," explained Phi. "That's the only option. There's no other way we can group up to make white. And black doesn't go into white…"

"It's fine Phi. My colour changes when I get close to the white doors," explained Harry. "That's the only time I've seen them change."

"But…" Phi looked confused then understanding. "I see. Anyway, Alice, Luna and Quark aren't here to show us their bracelets so we don't know for sure what their colours are but it's pretty clear that they'll all be pairs as the solos are taken."

"So they'll be magenta, yellow and Cyan, right?" asked Sigma.

"Right."

"Alright, what now?" asked Dio. "We've got plenty of time until those white doors open."

"Yeah, about an hour," agreed Sigma as everyone checked the time.

"I'm gonna go find Alice," decided Clover.

"Of course. I'll come with you then," decided Phi. Clover shrugged and they left through the cyan door.

"Do I really need to say it?" asked Tenmyouji.

"The infirmary, right?" asked Sigma. "You're going to check on Quark."

"Yeah." Tenmyouji left through the yellow door.

"What are you going to do?" asked Sigma.

"I don't know," said Harry. "I've got nothing to do."

"I think I'm going to head over to the lounge and have a drink," said Dio. "You wanna tag along K?"

"Are you making fun of me?" asked K. "I find it rather hard to drink with this mask on."

"Oh, right, of course. My bad. Well, I'm out. Later!"

Dio slouched towards the magenta door. K followed him.

"Hey, what is this? You following me?"

"No, you must be mistaken. I hope to investigate floor B further. There are still several rooms I haven't visited."

"Ok, ok, you don't have to tell me your life story. See ya."

Harry raised an eyebrow as they stepped through the door.

"Alright. What should I do?" muttered Sigma. "Of course. I need to get the rest of that story out of Tenmyouji!"

"Mind if I come with you?" asked Harry.

"Do whatever you want kid."

They walked to the infirmary and found an empty room.

"Huh?"

"I don't see them leaving this room," muttered Harry.

They peeked around the partition to see Tenmyouji holding a picture. He must have heard something because he looked up and shoved the picture away.

"What was that?" asked Sigma. "It was a photo of something, right? Was it yours?"

"Forget it. It's got nothing to do with you."

"I suggest you do as he says," said Harry.

"But all of the stuff we had with us when we got grabbed was taken away… Why were you hiding it?"

"Why should I tell all of you about one measly photo?"

"Um, anyway, where's Luna?"

"I asked her to leave. I wanted to be alone with Quark for a bit."

"Reasonable." Harry shrugged. "You really care for him, don't you?"

Tenmyouji remained silent for a minute. "So, why are you here?"

"I wanted to hear the rest," explained Sigma. "Harry here tagged along."

"The rest of what? What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that simulated manned mission to Mars," explained Sigma. "We heard that recording about it."

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about. I'm getting old. Memory's not what it used to be. I seem to be forgetting a lot of stuff lately…"

"Hey! Nice try pal but you're not getting away with it this time! You remember something alright! You remember so much you told it'd take way more than ten minutes to tell it all!"

"Calm down Sigma," suggested Harry.

"You really sure you want to know?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Huh?"

"Maybe I'll tell you and then you'll regret it. Maybe you'll wish you'd kept your fool mouth shut. Just think about all the hopes you've got for the future and all the happy memories you have of your past. What if I have to tell you makes everything you've ever believed ring hollow and the whole world just crumbles around you? You sure you want that?"

Harry snorted. "My parents are dead and my relatives made me live in a cupboard. Not very many happy memories in my life."

"You don't need to threaten us," added Sigma.

"This isn't a threat. I'm being honest here. Are you really, truly prepared?"

"Of course…"

Phi exploded into the room.

"Good! There you are!"

"Has something happened Phi?" asked Harry.

"Alice… Alice is…" Phi couldn't finish her sentence. "Look, just come with me, alright? She's in the number two cabin!"

Phi ran out of the room without waiting for a response. Harry chased her.

"What's going on Phi? Is Alice dead? Again?"

"Again?" asked Phi.

"Please tell me you haven't forgotten! You know, that timeline jumping ability of ours? Please tell me you've visited a timeline where Alice dies!"

Phi glanced back. "I see. I think I remember something about that."

They skidded to a halt once they arrived at the cabin. Harry sighed in sadness.

"Alice!" Sigma looked stunned. "No... Why did this happen?"

He slowly walked towards her and pressed his fingers to her neck. It was pretty obvious she was dead though. Her bracelet had fallen off.

"No… No, it's not true… why?"

"Radical-6 possibly," said Harry as he looked at the scalpel buried in her chest. "She could have easily gotten it from Quark. But we can't rule out the possibility of murder."

"Who… who did this…?" No one answered Clover's question. "Say something! Answer me!"

"Please Clover, calm down," pleaded Luna. "We don't even know she was killed…"

"Then what happened?! An accident?! You think a scalpel just dropped from the ceiling and stabbed her?!"

"Cool it kid," said Dio.

"You did it, didn't you?!"

"Hey, let's not be throwing round accusations," said Harry. "There's no proof that Dio did it."

"Are you nuts?" asked Dio.

"Then who did it?! Who killed her?!"

"Clover, even if we assume that she was murdered, that doesn't necessarily mean the killer was one of us, does it?" asked K.

"Wait a minute… you went into the AB room with Alice in the last round, didn't you? Something happened in there, didn't it?"

"No, nothing happened…."

"Don't lie to me! There's no way Alice would just run off like that! She wouldn't leave me! Something happened! If she was going to leave, she'd tell me! She… She…"

"Hey Clover. Don't you think just assuming Alice was murdered is jumping the gun a little bit?" asked Phi.

"How can you look at her and say that?! Scalpels don't just stab people all by themselves!" Silence. "Oh, I see. I see… I get it now. You're all in on it, aren't you? It wasn't just one killer… it was seven! No wonder you're so anxious to say this wasn't a murder!"

"Well, judging by Quark's earlier reaction, Radical-6 makes you suicidal," said Harry. "That's if she was infected though."

"Clover, please, just settle down," pleaded Tenmyouji.

"Hmph. Fine. Show me some proof then. Prove to me in ten seconds that you didn't murder my friend or I'm going to kill every last one of you bastards! You're all going to die just like she did!"

"Hey, hold on a minute," pleaded Sigma.

"Nine! Eight! Seven!"

"Clover!"

"Six! Five! Four!"

"Clover!"

"Three! Two! One!"


	7. When many jumps are required part 2

I don't own Harry Potter or Virtue's Last Reward

When many jumps are required part 2

Harry twitched as Clover moved. Sigma clamped his hand around her wrist.

"What are you doing?!"

"Clover, listen to me! Alice wasn't killed! Nobody murdered her! She... she took her own life."

Everyone looked shocked.

"What...? No... No, there's no way she'd do that!"

"It's true! She stabbed herself in the heart with the scalpel!"

"Alright, where'd she get the scalpel then?!"

"The infirmary," replied Harry. "There was one there when we investigated it."

"I did hear someone come into the infirmary right after the AB Game ended..." Luna said nervously.

"Was that before I showed up?" asked Tenmyouji.

"Yes. I got up to see who it was but they were already gone. It could have been Alice..."

"So she could have taken the scalpel then," said Sigma.

"Yes, I think so."

"It's possible," agreed Harry.

"You're lying!" Everyone turned to Clover. "This is all a lie! It had to be!"

"It's not," replied Sigma. "It's the truth."

"Then why did she do it? Why would Alice kill herself?"

"She... she probably didn't have a reason."

"What...?"

"She'd been infected with Radical-6," continued Sigma. "That's what killed her."

"But you just said she killed herself! Just tell me the truth!"

"I am!"

"Then prove it! Your ten seconds ran out a long time ago so if you don't have any proof…"

"I do!" Clover looked confused. "I have proof. There was a journal in the lab, wasn't there K? Show it to me."

"A journal?" asked K.

"It would have been in the safe."

"Ah, well, Alice would have it then."

"Phi, can you…?" asked Sigma. "I don't feel right touching a dead woman's body. Could you take a look?"

"Sure." Phi quickly searched Alice's clothes before pulling out the journal. She made to hand it to Sigma who shook his head.

"You read it. It's in Latin; I can't make heads or tails of it."

Phi opened the book then looked at Sigma in surprise and suspicion. "Yes, it is in Latin. But translating this is impossible. It's full of words I've never heard before. I can barely understand any of this."

"Page 216."

"Huh?"

"Turn to page 216. You should be able to read that one."

Phi flipped to the page before staring at Sigma with renewed suspicion. "Yeah, I can read this one. How did you know? No, wait. How did you even know there was a journal in the lab?"

"I just knew."

"You just knew? Come on."

"Look, just read it, ok?! Clover wants to know what it has to say! Right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Right. Give me a moment to look it over." Phi looked at the page before translating it. Clover started to sob and collapsed to the floor. Harry closed his eyes. How did Sigma know? It would only work if he had made a jump in time.

"Uh, we've got a problem," said Dio after a few minutes. "It's almost time for the primary doors to open."

"Yeah, only ten minutes left," said Sigma as they checked the time.

"Sorry but I'll be takin Alice's bracelet. Phi and I won't be able to open the secondary door without it."

"So she was a magenta pair, just like me," said Phi as she looked at the colour and combination.

"Just now noticed that, did you?" Dio grabbed the bracelet and put it in his pocket.

"What colour is your bracelet Luna?" asked K.

"I'm a cyan pair."

"You are part of Clover's pair then. That means the two of you need to come with me."

"I guess so. Come on now Clover. We need to go. Alice would want you to survive, right? You'll never be able to figure out what all this happened if you stay here. Please…"

There was a small pause.

"You're right. Alice, I promise I'll find out what happened to you… I'll figure out who Zero really is. I mean, if you'd never been locked up in here, you never would have… This never would have happened. So… So, it's like Zero killed you. I… I promise. I'll avenge you."

Clover rubbed her eyes before striding out of the room.

"Alright, we're out of time," said Phi.

"You guys head down to the floor B warehouse," said Tenmyouji. "We'll catch up to you later."

"Oh, right. Quark's got the yellow bracelet which makes him your partner, right?" asked Sigma.

"Yeah. Can't exactly leave him behind."

"Without him, we'd end up stuck."

"Uh huh."

"Ok, let's go. We'll see the rest of you once we've picked up Quark," said Sigma.

"Very well. Until we meet again," said K.

Harry headed towards the floor B warehouse while Sigma and Tenmyouji went to the infirmary and picked up Quark. They waited for a couple of minutes until the doors opened and Sigma, Tenmyouji and Quark appeared.

**Chromatic doors are now open. Five minutes remain until chromatic doors close.**

"You're late," complained Dio. "Where the heck have you been? Quark?!"

"You're awake," said a pleased Luna.

"And fully recovered," added Phi. "Apparently."

"I am also pleased to see you well again," commented K.

"Me too…" added Clover.

"It's good to see you again," said Harry as he lightly punched Quark.

"Wait a minute… What are you talking about?" asked a confused Quark. Sigma held a finger up to his lips. Everybody fell silent.

"Huh?"

"Ah, um, anyway," said Luna, changing the topic. "There isn't any time left! We need to hurry!"

"But there are three doors," pointed out Tenmyouji.

"Which team goes in which door?" asked Sigma.

"Does it matter?" asked Harry.

"We're taking the one in the middle," said Dio.

"Why that one?" asked Phi.

"You want a kill shot, you aim for the middle. You're more likely to miss the extremities."

"That logic is flawed and more than slightly disturbing. Unfortunately, I don't have a counter argument so centre door it is."

"I suppose we could go through the one on the left," said Luna nervously. "Is that ok? I mean, we could go with the other one if you want…"

K and Clover nodded.

"Well, there's only one door left," said Tenmyouji. "The door on the left."

"Any objections?" asked Phi. There were none. "Alright, let's move!"

**Thirty seconds remain until Chromatic doors close.**

"Hurry it up Phi!" snapped Dio. "This thing's is going to close!"

"It's time we were going as well," said K as the group entered the centre door.

"Right," agreed Luna.

"Sure," added Clover.

"Come on guys, there's no time to waste," said Sigma as they headed towards the left door. Harry quickly followed them. The door closed behind them and they walked along the small corridor to the director's office.

"What's this place?" asked Sigma as they looked around the room.

"An office," said Harry with a sigh.

"It said director's office on the door," said Quark.

"So this might be Zero Sr's Office…" Sigma trailed off.

"Maybe," said Tenmyouji. "Or maybe not."

"Well, which is it?" asked Sigma.

"Why would I know?!"

"Does it matter?" asked Harry.

"We should look around," said Quark. "If this really is Zero Sr's room, there might be some clues!"

"Yeah, you have a point," agreed Sigma. "Let's get started then."

Harry walked over to the computer.

"Well, well, well. Haven't seen a computer this old in a while," said Tenmyouji.

"There's something on the screen," said Sigma as he looked at it too.

"Yeah. A password and a user name," said Harry. "But we don't have those."

"Is that a lion eating a hamburger?" asked Quark.

"No, I think it's a lion eating a sun," corrected Harry. Tenmyouji pressed a few buttons.

"The keyboard doesn't seem to be working."

"I guess we can't enter anything then," said Quark. Harry picked up what looked like a business card holder as Sigma tried to open the drawer but it was locked before moving over to a device on the wall.

"What is this?"

"I think it's a facial recognition device," said Tenmyouji. "You put your hands on either side and place your face in front of it as it checks your face against a database."

"Oh. How did you know that?"

"I'm in the salvage business," explained Tenmyouji. "Every so often, one of these babies turns up."

"It doesn't look like it's turned on," said Quark.

"Then we should try to turn it on," said Harry. Sigma put his face in front of it but nothing happened.

"There's something that looks like a keyhole over to the right," said Tenmyouji. "If we had a key for it…"

"You think we could turn it on?" asked Sigma.

"I assume so."

Harry prodded the balloon before examining a green coaster in the cabinet.

"Ha ha! Now this is brandy!" Tenmyouji removed the bottle. "Fierre Perrin's 200 year old reserve!"

"You can tell that from just looking at it?" asked Sigma.

"I can smell it."

"That's some nose." Sigma snatched it away as Tenmyouji tried to drink some. Harry reached up and grabbed the globe before taking the paper off it.

"A suit of armour."

"Well, it's not really a full suit of armour. I mean, it's missing the helmet."

"So what would we call it?" asked Sigma.

"I'm not sure…"

"Ok, well, I'm just going to go ahead and call it a suit of armour."

"Suit yourself."

"Anyway, it's got some red paint on the shoulder and neck."

"Are you sure it's paint?" asked Tenmyouji. "It could be blood."

Harry swiped the letter and sniffed his finger. "Smells like paint."

He forced the small spear and the slingshot out of the armour's grasp.

"The tip looks kinda like a diamond," said Tenmyouji. Harry walked back to the desk and inserted it into the lock, collecting some books along the way. He pulled out the key inside.

"What's this? A vacuuming robot?"

"It's a machine of some sort," said Tenmyouji with a shrug as the three studied the machine on the floor.

"Well, is it turned on?" asked Quark.

"Don't think so," replied Sigma as he tried to get it to work. "Nope. Nothing happening."

"This is cheap brandy," said Tenmyouji as he pulled the bottle out. "Alcohol like this shouldn't even exist. So I think I should be disposing it safely…."

"I'll be taking that." Sigma snatched it, causing Tenmyouji to grumble. He pulled out a tablet without a battery judging by the conversation. Glancing over, Harry noticed that they had put the expensive alcohol in the shelves and were trying to open a safe. They opened it to find a deer and a binder.

Sigma walked over to the cards and rearranged them before turning them over. "Book 334."

Harry placed the books in the right order on the shelf before moving the deer head onto the wall. Pulling out the slingshot, he shot the balloon.

Inserting the key into the recognition device, Harry turned it on before trying to see if it worked. No one else worked either.

**Face not recognised. Gender mismatch.**

"What does it mean by gender mismatch?" asked Sigma. Harry hit his head on the wall.

"It means we're the wrong gender. It wants a girl's face."

"We could dress Quark up," suggested Sigma. No one agreed with him. Eventually Tenmyouji pulled out a photo and placed it against the scanner. Part of the wall turned round.

"It's like we're in the villain's secret lair!" exclaimed Quark.

"Huh. Didn't think that would happen," said Tenmyouji.

"Well, that was surprising," said Harry as he calmed down.

"I guess the recognition worked," said Sigma. "Oh, hey, look. There's the helmet for the suit of armour!"

"Let's put it back where it belongs then." Harry picked it up and placed it on the rest of the amour. He quickly turned around as he heard the wall rotating again. "What have you done?"

"Sigma pulled a lever," said Quark. The wall turned again and Sigma reappeared with the tablet working.

"It needs a password."

Harry reached over and typed in Hel. "There's a letter missing."

Sigma entered a p and pressed enter. A password appeared and they used it to open the safe.

"Good job! It opened!"

"Let's cut the talking and check what's in here," said Harry before anyone else could talk.

"Hey, Mr Sigma. I know that's stuff is important but aren't you, you know, curious?" whispered Quark.

"About what?"

"Grandpa's picture. The one in front of the facial recognition thingy. Don't you want to take a look at it? Come on, hurry!"

Harry quickly linked himself with Sigma as the two walked over to the recognition device and looked at the picture.

"Hey! Stop…"

"She's just a girl," said Sigma as he flipped the paper over. Harry had the strangest feeling that he'd seen her before somewhere. "Is she your granddaughter?"

"No."

"Then who is she?"

"Ugh. Fine. You've already seen her after all. Her name is Akane Kurashiki. I've been looking for her for… for a long time."

"Why?" asked Sigma.

"Because she's his first love," explained Quark.

"No! You've got it wrong!"

"But you carry around that photo all the time. I don't think I've ever seen you leave it somewhere. And when you think nobody's looking, you talk to it. I've seen you do it."

"Huh. Didn't mark you as a hopeless romantic Tenmyouji," said Sigma.

"Look, it's not about love and I'm not a romantic!"

"Ok, ok." Sigma tried to placate him. "You don't want to talk about it. I get it."

"Can we get on?" asked Harry.

"There are only two things in here," said Tenmyouji as they looked into the safe.

"First we've got the star cards," said Sigma as he pulled them out. Harry hid a wince as his bracelet heated up. "You guys take one and I'll take the other."

"Right. We're a pair and we only need one for the two of us," agreed Tenmyouji.

"And the other thing is a key as usual."

"Yes! Now we can get out of here," cheered Quark.

"Great. No point in waiting around," said Tenmyouji. "Let's get out of here."

They walked over to the door and unlocked it before following the corridor to the elevator.

"No! Damnit!"

"What is it?" asked Quark.

"I left something in the director's office!"

"What was it?"

"The picture," said Harry as he understood.

"How could I forget it?!"

"Oh yeah. We must have set it down after using the face recognition thing," said Sigma.

"Yeah. I'm going back. You three go on ahead to the warehouse."

"I want to come with you," protested Quark.

"Me too," agreed Sigma.

"I'll wait in the warehouse," said Harry after a second. "The others are probably waiting."

He entered the elevator and Sigma joined him after a second. They walked to the warehouse and found everyone else there. Dio dashed over to an AB room and unlocked it.

"There. Happy? This time I waited for you to return before opening the gate. You see? I can be considerate."

"But Tenmyouji and Quark aren't here…."

"They already know that the gate has been opened," pointed out Harry. "That announcement goes everywhere."

"Yeah, where are they?" asked Phi.

"I guess they forgot something back in the room we investigated," said Sigma with a shrug. "They ran back to grab it real quick."

"Then they'll be here in a few minutes," said Dio. "No big deal."

Everyone started to exchange information. Getting bored, Harry wandered back to the director's office to find it empty.

"That's weird." He jumped as something powered up and looked around wildly to see a light from the machine on the floor. "What?"

He cautiously approached it.

"So you made it. You must have as many questions for me as there are stars in the sky." Harry stared at the man projected from the machine. He couldn't have been older than seventeen or eighteen. "This is only a recording I made for you Harry. It will only run when the machine detects that you're in here, alone. I can't directly answer any of your questions. You can ask if you want to but there's no point as I can't answer them."

Harry frowned before deciding that he had to know his name. He noticed a bracelet on his arm and walked around to see the colour.

"You can't be…"

He checked again but there was no mistake. A black solo.

"You will have worked out who I am as I knew you would. Now, I'm supposed to talk about termites and how they can't see the beauty of what they make but that's boring. Now, is it possible to create something, a chemical or a potion, that would change the perceptions of the person injected with it? If it is, it would be possible to make them believe that they had a smaller body than they do. I spent a good number of years developing a potion that would do this. Another thing you could do is to get to know Zero Jr. you will be spending a lot of time with him after all. My time's up. Before I go, there's something I need to tell you. It is the password to the bomb numbered one. BQZ RGJ DXR. As usual, you can't tell anyone about this or you will be penalised."

The hologram disappeared.

"What was that about?" muttered Harry as he left the room. "Was that really me? But I don't remember anything about that. Is it possibly a future version of me?"

Shaking his head, he headed back to the warehouse on Floor A.

"Where did you go?" asked Phi.

"Looking for Tenmyouji and Quark but I must have missed them." Harry glanced at Tenmyouji's face. "Something wrong?"

The announcer's voice echoed around the facility as it told them they had ten minutes left.

"Grandpa, look! Mr Sigma's back!"

"Hmph. Took you long enough."

"Where are the others?" panted Sigma.

"In the AB Rooms," explained Quark. "Harry got here a few minutes ago."

"They went in already?" asked Sigma.

"Do you expect them to wait?" asked Harry.

"Why didn't you go in? Have you been waiting for me?"

"Yeah. Grandpa told me that he had something to tell you no matter what before we voted so we waited," explained Quark.

"Just wanted to tell you that we would choose ally this round. That's it."

"And you had to tell me that no matter what?" asked Sigma in confusion. "Seems kinda pointless… I mean, words are cheap. You can promise me whatever you want."

"True but we've got something to back it up. Just hear me out."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, go ahead."

"Quark and I both have 8 BP. We're already on the home stretch. So what do we need to get to the magic number? Well, we need you to choose ally. If you do that, it doesn't really matter what we pick."

"You'd get to nine whether you chose ally or betray," said Sigma.

"And we'd get stuck here," said Harry.

"Exactly Sigma. That being the case, we don't have any reason to betray you. And if we both choose ally, we both gain points."

"True but you must have considered that I'd choose betray," pointed out Sigma. "That would mean that you'd choose betray to protect yourselves."

"But that's why we're telling you that we won't choose betray," said Quark. Tenmyouji nodded in agreement.

"And how do we know that you won't just open the number nine door?" asked Harry as he looked at it.

"I can guarantee it."

"How?" asked Sigma.

"I can give you my word. I will not open the number nine door even if I have enough points to do so. I swear it. We aren't going to abandon everyone just so we can escape."

"I swear too. I promise."

"So all you've got is a promise," said Sigma.

"I keep my promises."

"Please! You've got to trust us," pleaded Quark.

"All right, fine," said Sigma after a few seconds. "I'll trust you."

"Just don't betray us," warned Harry.

Harry glanced up as the announcer informed them that they had two minutes left. He walked over to the scanner and pressed his hand to it. The gate opened and he entered it. The gate closed behind him and he walked to the back of the room. One minute remained. Hesitating, he thought of the options. He could choose betray but that would mean breaking the promise. But he hadn't made the promise.

Ten seconds left. Harry reached out and pressed ally. The door opened and he walked to the projector.

**Results from round three of the Ambidex Game will now be displayed. Please direct your attention to the screen.**

"What?" asked Harry as he saw Tenmyouji's and Quark's decision. "You chose betray?"

He glanced at his bracelet to see the number change to one.

"Hey! What the hell guys?!" asked an angry sigma. "Why's you betray us?!"

"Quark had nothing to do with this," admitted Tenmyouji. "I made the vote."

"Grandpa…"

"Alright, fine! Why'd you break your promise?"

"I only promised you one thing, that we wouldn't open the number nine door. We couldn't open the number nine door even if we did have nine points."

"What?" asked Sigma. "So you're not going to leave?"

"Not what I said. Of course we're going to leave."

"Clover!" Harry turned towards the door. "You were counting on her to open the door, weren't you… Junpei?"

"What? How did you know that name?!"

"So I was right. Call it a lucky guess. That means you knew Clover from the Nonary game last year."

The lock beeped as the door opened.

"That bitch!" swore Dio.

"Wait, Quark and Tenmyouji have…" The two ran over as Phi spoke.

"No! Godamnit!"

"Are you really going to leave?" asked Luna.

"Well, yeah. Why else would I open the door?"

"But why?" asked K.

"I'm going to go call the others. So we can capture Zero Sr."

"Tenmyouji, are you and Quark going too?" asked Phi.

"Yeah. Sorry about that."

"Sorry…"

"So Sigma… Happy?" asked Tenmyouji with a sudden edge to his voice. "I kept my promise. Clover opened the door, not me."

"Like hell I'm happy! That's some shady shit Tenmyouji! We're stuck here now!"

"If you say so. I have to get out of here and that's that. He's going to pay for what he's done."

"He?" asked K.

"Zero."

"You mean you know who Zero Sr is?" asked Luna.

"Yeah. No point keeping it a secret now I suppose. I know exactly who Zero Sr is."

"What?" asked a surprised Phi.

"How?" asked Harry.

"Let's go!" exclaimed Clover as the door finished opening. "Time to move!"

"Right," agreed Tenmyouji.

"Oh, wait! This is for you, Mr Sigma!" Quark handed Sigma something.

"What is this?"

"It's a letter. I wrote it in the director's office before the AB game. I wanted to tell you the kind of guy Grandpa is. So… Read it ok? See you later Mr Sigma."

He ran for the door with Tenmyouji and Clover following.

"See you."

"Goodbye."

The door closed. Harry peered at the letter as the announcer repeated its recorded message.

"Shit…" muttered Dio. "They're gone."

"There's nothing we can do now," said Harry, feeling strangely calm.

"All we can do is hope they bring help back," said Phi.

"Indeed," agreed K.

Sigma unfolded Quark's letter and started to read. Harry peered over his shoulder.

'It was a really stormy day when he found me. He said the rain was coming down so hard, it almost hurt but somehow he managed to hear a baby crying. I guess I must have been crying pretty loud. He took me home and did his best to raise me but he'd never been married or had a kid before so I think it was really hard for him. He couldn't figure out the formula so he was away scarring the directions around with him. Also, I guess u was a pretty picky eater so if he didn't get the water to formula ratio just right, I wouldn't eat it. I guess I was kind of a pain huh? But he didn't give up so here I am. When he found me, I was really, really small and he was worried that I might not make it. That's why he named me Quark. A quark is a really, really small thing and I was really, really small too. Grandpa didn't need to worry though because it turned out that I was pretty tough. When I was one, he forgot that I was sleeping in the bed of his truck and drove off. I rolled out and went off the back but I didn't even get scratched.

I started walking when I was two and when he wasn't looking, I fell down the stairs. I didn't get hut then either. When I was three, I got really sick. I had a super high fever for a week but eventually, I got better. I guess you could say that I'm pretty lucky.

Anyway, I didn't have any more accidents after that and I was a pretty healthy kid. By the time I was six, I'd started helping grandpa with his work. His job was to gather junk from abandoned buildings. Then he'd fix it up or pull out the useful parts and sell them. There were plenty of abandoned buildings but finding good stuff in them was hard. You had to know which parts were useful or you'd end up wasting a bunch of time. Every time I found something, he'd explain to me what it was, how it was supposed to work, how to fix it, all sort of things. Usually though, I just wanted to finish up work so I could go to the theatre.

The theatre came to our town once a week in a wagon. They'd show old news or movies. I went every single week but Grandpa only went once in a while and he'd only go weeks when they showed movies.

Oh yeah, I didn't know that I'd been adopted until I was seven. One of the other kids on the block told me. I guess after Grandpa found me, he looked all over town to try and find someone who'd take me. The kid from my block actually had a mom and he'd asked her if she would take me too. I got to admit, I was pretty shocked when I heard that. There wasn't a lot of kids with parents around so hearing that someone lived with his actual mom was pretty impressive. I was also surprised that Grandpa had tried to get someone else to take me. Did that mean that he didn't love me?

The kid who'd told me about Grandpa trying to get rid of me was a real jerk. He was totally spoiled and he'd brag to everybody about how he had a mom. He liked to come up to me while I was working and say stuff like "must be hard not having a mother."

It never bothered me before but after I found out that Grandpa had adopted me, I started to think that maybe he didn't really want me. If I could work on my own then he could get rid of me. I was scared to know the truth so I never asked him.

Then one day, he took me to a bar in our neighbourhood. During the day of course. He went there to drink scotch but I'd never been before. When we got in, he walked up to the counter with that grumpy look he has and I thought "Oh no, he's going to make me work here." But I was wrong. I saw him pass something to the bartender and then he picked me up and set me down on a stool next to the counter. The stool was high, especially for a seven year old kid and my legs just dangled off of it. It seemed really, really high to me and I was pretty nervous.

Eventually the bartender came back over with a glass of scotch and another big glass of something else. As I looked closer, I realised that the second glass was full of brown liquid with a scoop of ice cream in it. It took me a minute to realise what it was. A root beer float! I'd never seen one before! I was so surprised! Root beer was even more expensive that the nicest alcohol in the bar. To me and the other kids, it seemed like an urban legend rather than a real drink. But there it was, right in front of me. I stared at the float – I still wasn't sure it was real at that point- and then turned to Grandpa. He looked back at me. I didn't know what to do so I turned to the bartender. He'd already turned around and moved off though so I assumed he must have put the glass down in front of me on purpose. It still didn't seem like it could be real and I was just starting at it when grandpa told me to hurry up and drink it before the ice cream melted. His gruff voice sounded like an angel's.

"Is this really mine?"

He nodded. Words can't describe how awesome it was. I'd never tasted anything like root beer before. The creamy sweetness of the ice cream made my entire head feel light. I felt like the luckiest boy in the whole world. That's not an exaggeration, I really thought that. The root beer float was delicious but what made me feel even happier was Grandpa. When I looked over at him, he was smiling. I know that's going to be hard for you to imagine but he really was! Right then, I didn't care whether he'd just found me and adopted me or not. He'd bought me a root beer float. That made me way luckier than some kid who had a mother but had never had a root beer float.

Of course, after we left the bar, he was the first kid I bragged to.

So Grandpa and I were doing pretty good until the fight. I was in a super bad mood that day. I'd torn one of my shoes that morning and some old drunk guy had yelled at me. All the junk I found was totally useless. The day was almost over so I'd just grabbed some random trash and took it back to the house. When I showed what I'd found to Grandpa, he frowned. He started going through each thing I'd brought back, explaining why they were all useless. I got really mad and just yelled "I don't care!"

Then he got mad and I couldn't take it anymore. So I ran away. I was pretty upset and I started thinking that maybe Grandpa had only adopted me so he could raise me to work and make money for him. After a while I went and hid in an abandoned building but by then I'd started to calm down and think that maybe I should go back and apologise. It had started raining pretty badly though so I decided I should wait for it to stop. But that was just an excuse. The truth was that I was nervous. Part of me knew that I'd done something wrong but I didn't want to admit it. The rain didn't stop though so I just sat there, staring out at the gloomy, grey sky. I imagined Grandpa coming to get me.

It kept raining all night and he never showed up. I gave up waiting and decided it was time to go home. I was about halfway there when I heard somebody groaning. At first I thought that I should just ignore it and not get involved but I went over anyway and… it was Grandpa.

He was totally soaked and I could tell right away that he'd been there for a really long time. I yelled and he opened his eyes a little bit. He smiled weakly and said he was glad I was safe. He'd spent all night out in the rain, looking for me.

I felt awful. Grandpa had been out in the rain looking for me for so long that he'd collapsed. I was horrible. He heard me crying in the rain but I hadn't heard him. As I ran to get the doctor, I promised whatever god might be listening that if they would only save Grandpa, I'd never ask for another root beer float ever again. He got a real bad fever and his temperature wouldn't go down for days. The doctor said that if it kept up, he'd die.

If he died, I would be all alone. There wouldn't be anyone left to care about me. The thought of that happening terrified me.

Fortunately, I must have passed some of my luck onto Grandpa because a week later, his fever broke. I was glad that he wasn't going to die but I was also a little scared. What if he decide that he didn't want a stupid kid like me around anymore?

My plan was to apologise as soon as he woke up but when the moment came, my brain just stopped. Grandpa was starting to talk and it took me a minute to realise that he was apologising, I didn't know what to think.

He explained that he was an old man and that meant he was probably going to die sooner rather than later. He was strict with me because he wanted to make sure I'd be able to make it on my own after he was gone but maybe he'd been a little too strict. All of the things I'd worried about had been stupid and selfish. Grandpa cared about me a whole lot. He'd been worried when I had run off and he'd gone out into the rain to look for me.

I tried to apologise but when I opened my mouth, I just started crying. I don't think I cried that much since I was a baby.

But he just smiled and patted my head. I asked him if he'd ever regretted adopting me. His eyes got all wide and he said "Of course not."

He told me that he was looking for a really important lady and because of that, he had to give up on pretty much everything else in his life. But when he took me in and started raising me, he felt like he'd gotten some of what he'd lost back

That was when I decided I'd stay with him forever. Even if he said I couldn't.'

Harry sighed when, out of the blue, something took control of him and forced him into a previously visited timeline.

Harry grumbled as he found himself looking through Sigma's eyes as he and K discussed the bloody bracelet. He walked through the motions but separated when they looked for Tenmyouji and Clover. Eventually, he entered the infirmary and froze as he saw the bodies.

"So that's what happened to them."

He felt the needles jab into him and collapsed to the floor.

"Nine minutes left then I'll end back up at the beginning again. This is so getting repetitive."

Time passed and he felt the needles jab into him before everything turned black.


End file.
